Percy Jackson and The Daughter of Artemis
by NoblesseSeria
Summary: A new hero rises to the challenge. But she must rely on the help of the Seven to complete her quest. The quest? To find the truth.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1: Unclaimed.

Only twelve months after the war with Gaia, Percy and Annabeth walked near the forest in Camp Half-Blood, looking up at the trees and talking quietly.

Annabeth looked into the forest. "Percy, do you see that?"

Percy looked over to where she was pointing. "It's a rock."

"No, I don't think it is. Let's go have a look."

Upon nearing the strange object, Annabeth gave a cry of alarm. "Percy! Come quick!"

A girl, no older than thirteen, lying unconscious on the ground with a large bag beside her and a broken steel knife lying a few metres away.

Annabeth propped the girl up on the bag and pulled a piece of ambrosia out of her pocket and began to feed the girl small pieces.

Nothing happened at first, but after a few moments the girl opened her eyes.

Annabeth didn't dare give her any more ambrosia, fearing that, if she did, the girl would burn up.

"Percy, go get Chiron. And hurry!"

Percy, thankful that he could help, ran all the way back to camp. Chiron, the activities director, was showing some Apollo boys how to shoot an arrow while moving.

Percy panted out what had happened. Chiron pulled Percy onto his back and galloped towards the forest where Percy had left Annabeth.

Annabeth had gotten the girl to sit up, but she looked like she was about to faint again any second.

She bent over the sleepy child. "Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

The kid shook her head, a good sign that her hearing was good, and she didn't have any head injuries.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"J-Jacqueline… H-Hunt."

Annabeth smiled gently. "Here's Chiron. You'll be safe soon."

The Big House's porch was soon abuzz with kids wanting to catch a glimpse at the new girl or certify the rumours that had been buzzing around camp ever since Chiron had brought back a seriously ill Half-Blood, but not even let the Apollo healers help her.

Mr D had to go outside and yell at the campers for a full three minutes and provoke all privileges for a week before the crowds dispersed. He came back inside with almost a smile on his face.

Inside, Argus was standing in the doorway of the spare room where Annabeth and Chiron watched over the new girl.

"Chiron, do you think she's been claimed?" asked Annabeth quietly.

"No. If she had, she'd be dead."

"Do you have any idea who her parent is?"

"No." Came Chiron's reply. "I really can't guess who. All of the gods promised to claim their children. This makes no sense."

"Maybe she's the child of a minor god and has been claimed. Their aura is never to powerful."

The old centaur shook his head. "Her aura already exceeds that of the minor gods' children, even after they are claimed. She has to be one of the Olympian's children. But which one?"

Annabeth sat down on the edge of the bed. "No time to discuss that now. She's waking up."

Jacqueline opened her eyes slightly and sat up. Annabeth sat beside her, supporting her enough so that she didn't fall over. "Hey! Steady there. You took quite the beating up in the forest. Are you okay?"

Jacqueline took in her surroundings with limited interest. "I'm fine…"

She startled slightly at the sight of Argus, who gave a friendly wave, just to show he was not a threat.

Chiron swished his tail nervously. "Jacqueline, can you tell us what happened to you in the forest?"

"Where is my bag?"

Annabeth pulled the heavy pack onto the bed. "I don't understand why you would want to carry this for so long…"

Jacqueline pulled out a large pouch. Inside was a group of scales, sharper than swords and quite small too.

"I came all the way from San Francisco my own. I was attacked by a Hydra on the way. When I entered the camp, I thought I would be safe, but I thought wrong. I was attacked by something huge under the lone pine on the hill. I only just made it to the forest, but it followed me. I wouldn't even have made it that far if the dragon under the pine hadn't bitten the creature. It was already half-dissolved when it caught up to me. I finished it off but got badly hurt and passed out."

Annabeth frowned. "Monsters shouldn't be able to get into camp. Someone must have allowed it in."

She turned back towards Jacqueline to ask her another question, but she was asleep again.

It was only the next morning when Jacqueline joined the rest of the campers. She ate at the Athena table, but did not talk to anyone except Annabeth.

After a surprisingly uneventful breakfast, Annabeth took Jacqueline's hand and led her towards the camp forge.

"We need to find you a new weapon, Jacqueline, especially…"

"Jackie"

Annabeth was startled by the sudden speech. "Pardon?"

"I prefer Jackie."

"Well, Jackie, try and find a weapon that you think you could fight with, okay?"

They tried different weapons, but none seemed right.

Finally, Annabeth was about ready to give up looking, when Jackie pulled out a strange-looking sword that Annabeth had never seen before, along with an even stranger looking sheath.

"A khopesh. Not bad but needs oiling." Jackie stated. "Ah, this needs to be clipped to a quiver."

Annabeth watched in interest as Jackie pulled out a white leather quiver and a decorative silver bow.

"Too flashy." Said the young girl, tossing back the bright archery set and pulling out a plain black quiver with a dark mahogany bow.

Annabeth watched carefully as Jackie attached the khopesh sheath to the quiver and then slung it over her back.

She then pulled out a long knife from the pile.

Annabeth made a move to take it from her. "That's no good. It doesn't have a sheath."

Jackie slapped her hand away and secured it behind some straps on her right boot.

"Who needs a sheath?"

Annabeth pulled a sour expression. "Have you taken enough from the camp supply yet?"

"Nearly, just one last thing…"

Jackie pulled out two classic WW2 trench knives, clipping the tiny sheaths to her belt. "Now I'm done."

The pair left the camp weaponry with quite a hateful aura hanging around them. Annabeth had had enough of this new kid.

"Percy! Come here!" She yelled at her long-suffering boyfriend.

"This is Percy. Jackie, you might remember him from when we found you in the forest. He's going to show you where you sleep, isn't that right Percy?"

Percy nodded. "Follow me, kiddo. First, we get you some stuff from the Camp Store, okay?"

"Fine." Came the bored reply.

They managed to get a camouflage sleeping bag, a bag of basic necessities (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.) and a pair of Camp Half-Blood shirts.

"Hey, that's quite a haul of weapons you have there. Why did you choose so many?" Percy asked, trying desperately to break the ice.

"I know many different fighting styles, including advanced archery and fencing. Also, I was taught broadsword fighting and khopesh techniques, plus knife-throwing and bare-knuckle brawling." Answered Jackie, surprised that Percy had asked.

Percy nodded, impressed. "That's quite a lot. Do you know who your godly parent is?"

Jackie frowned sadly. "I don't even know who my human parent was, but I hope my godly parent is either Hephaestus or Poseidon."

Percy smiled. "Why is that?"

"Because I want to build stuff and learn how to surf."

The older boy laughed, making Jackie smiled. "That's cool. I'll teach you how to surf, but first, we've got to find you a place to stay. I suggest staying away from the Hermes cabin. They don't like having spare campers since the gods promised to claim their children. Hephaestus cabin is full of bronze shards, you do not want to go in there.

Athena cabin is full at the moment… Poseidon? Nah. You'd be the only girl and, because you aren't claimed, that's not allowed. You can't go in either Hades, Zeus or Hera's cabin, so… would Aphrodite take you? Let's go see."

They collected Jackie's bag from the Big House and began to walk over to the pretty white cabin.

Jackie wrinkled her nose at the smell of designer perfume as they neared the cabin.

"I'm guessing there was nowhere else?"

Percy patted her shoulder. "I'm not sure if they'll take you or not yet. It's either this or the Apollo cabin."

Jackie's eyes widened. "I would rather be being caked in makeup than cursed to play the ukulele."

"You wouldn't have to play the ukulele. They're more likely to make you sing bad poetry."

The way Jackie's eyes opened in terror made Percy laugh. "Right. Here we are."

He knocked on the door, only to be answered with a dozen voices yelling. "Just a minute!"

The door creaked open and a tall and very pretty dark-skinned girl stood there.

Percy smiled. "Hey, Piper! Any chance you guys have a spare bunk? We need to find Jackie a place to sleep."

Piper smiled and nodded. "Sure. Come on in Jackie."

Jackie looked slightly frightened, so Percy bent down and hugged her. "You'll be fine. Just don't steal any of their makeup and you'll be okay."

Jackie returned his hug. "Thanks Percy."

Piper patted Jackie's shoulder as Percy walked away. "We're not that bad. Come in and you'll see."

Piper took Jackie's hand gently and led her inside. "Listen up, everyone! We've got a new roommate!"

Everyone looked over to where Jackie was standing, making her feel like an animal at the zoo. A few nodded, but a few started whisperings. Obviously, they didn't like Jackie's attire. A pair of biker boots, black jeans, a white shirt and a cropped black-leather jacket, plus all the weapons she had picked up at the forge.

"Hey, Jackie is not a museum exhibit. Stop staring at her." Yelled Piper, loud enough for them all to stop looking at her.

"Your bunk's in the corner. Make yourself at home." Piper said before going back to her own bunk.

Jackie's bed was quite dark, something she found homely. All the bunks had curtains that could be pulled across for privacy. These were immediately pulled shut on Jackie's bed.

Night time in the Aphrodite cabin was not really peaceful. All the kids (not just the girls) would stay up gossiping.

Eventually though, they started to fall asleep.

Jackie stared around her little bunk space. It was cosy and warm, so it would be quite good as a sleeping place for however long she'd be staying here.

One of the great attributes of the Aphrodite cabin was that they did not snore, so the cabin was almost completely silent, except for some girl muttering in her sleep.

Soon enough, Jackie fell asleep. But the nightmares still came.

Falling. No, standing. Darkness, all around her, no escape. Silver moon above, just a slither of silver to guide her.

Something, in the darkness behind her. Running, running through the undergrowth, screaming. The creature leapt…

Jackie awoke the next morning in a cold sweat. All the other kids were awake, pulling on favourite garments or smearing their faces with makeup.

Piper came over to Jackie, who was still panicking. "Nightmare?"

Jackie nodded. "Yeah."

"Forget it. Stuff doesn't happen before it happens, and when it does, you've got to hope that it's not as bad as it looks."

"Right…"

Piper stepped away as another girl came over to Jackie's bunk. "Hey, do you have any makeup to wear?"

"No."

The girl nodded. "My names Bethany and, um… I have some stuff that suit you."

Bethany handed Jackie a small bag with some brownish eyeliner and a bit of mascara in it.

"Thanks, Bethany."

"Your welcome, Jackie, any time." Smiled Bethany, walking off.

Jackie put on the makeup, careful not to smear it.

Piper called the cabin into a line. "Time for breakfast! Grab your armour and weapons, we have to practice for tonight's Capture the Flag!"

The cabin cheered, pulling on their armour and strapping on weapons, filling quivers with arrows and then running to join the line to walk to breakfast.

Jackie was shunted to the back of the line, where she looked quite silly behind one of the tallest kids in the camp. She was quite short for her age.

Piper counted the Aphrodite campers before they set off. "Where is Dee?"

"I'm in the bathroom! Leave me alone!"

"Fine! It's pancakes for breakfast, so enjoy missing out!" yelled Piper.

She jumped to the start of the line and marched the cabin down to the dining pavilion, where the rest of the camp already was stuffing themselves full of pancakes and toast.

Jackie followed suit as the rest of her cabin put some of their breakfast into the fire, saying "For Aphrodite!"

Jackie instead said. "For whoever wants to claim me as their kid."

After a slightly too noisy breakfast, Piper led the cabin off towards the Arena to practice fighting for CTF, which was that night.

Jackie stayed for a few minutes but was soon bored with the whole thing and wanted something else to do.

She carefully snuck out of the Arena and walked around the camp, looking at everything and watching anything she found remotely interesting before moving off.

Suddenly, she felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle. A huge black dog was lumbering after her.

She drew her khopesh, the Celestial Bronze shining bright in the morning light.

That dog was what attacked her in the forest. She was sure of it.

She charged the dog, lifting her blade high above her head, ready to bring it down on the beast, when another sword parried the shot away from the beast's neck.

"Hey!" She yelled. It was Percy at the other end of that blade.

"Don't worry about Mrs O'Leary, she's tame. Don't kill her, okay?" he said pushing her back a little way.

"What? No! That's the thing that attacked me in the forest!"

Percy paled. "Pardon? A hellhound attacked you?"

"That's what I just said, right?"

Percy nodded. "Well, don't kill my pet tonight, okay? She's on the opposite team to you."

Jackie nodded and followed Percy towards the lake. "So, we're going to fight against each other?"

"Yeah, I wasn't too sure on what to do on my first CTF night, but you'll soon work it out. You'll be fighting with Hades and Hephaestus, against Poseidon, Athena and Ares. You guys are at a disadvantage, because you have less fighters, but you're stronger. Also, get to know your fellow fighters a bit too. I'd go talk to Nico if I were you. He's the only Hades at the moment, so he needs someone to talk to. I'll see you later."

"Bye Percy. I hope you trip in a rabbit hole!"

Percy laughed. "You too!"

Jackie smiled and walked back toward the half-circle of cabins. The darkest cabin, made of a creepy black stone, was what Jackie guessed was the Hades cabin.

She approached with caution, knocking gently on the door. It opened and a boy, maybe a little younger than Percy, stood in the doorway.

"Hi, I'm Nico. What do you want?" He said.

"I'm Jackie and I would like to get to know the people I'm going to get mauled alongside tonight."

"Aphrodite, or Hephaestus?"

"Neither. I'm unclaimed."

Nico looked at her with some interest. "Okay. I like your jacket, by the way."

Jackie fiddled with the black leather. "Thanks. Mean sword you got there."

Nico's Stygian Iron sword hung at his side, hanging a little way out of its sheath. "Oh, you like that? Most people don't because it has a creepy aura, but I like it. Maybe you're a child of Hades?"

"Maybe, I don't know. It would be kind of cool to have a brother."

"And a sister."

Jackie looked up at Nico. "Pardon?"

"There's another camp." Nico explained. "Camp Jupiter. My sister Hazel lives there, but sometimes she visits me, just as I visit her. It's nice to know I have a sibling somewhere."

Jackie frowned. "What about your human parent, your mom? What's she like?"

"She died."

Jackie felt horrified. "Oh, Nico! I'm sorry, I didn't know."

They sat in silence for a few moments until Jackie spoke again.

"She must have been kind, and very beautiful, for you to miss her so much."

Nico nodded. "The nicest woman in the world… What about your parent?"

"Never had set 'parents.' I was dumped at the orphanage the day I was born. The workers there said that the woman who brought me to them told them that it was my birthday but did not claim me as her own. So I don't know who I 'belong to.'

When I was in the library one day, I found this book. Camp Half-Blood Confidential. It said that normal humans couldn't read it, nor see it, so I had to be a Half-Blood. I ran away from home that night."

Nico stared at her with a look of surprise. "So, you… don't have any parents? At all?"

"Nope."

"That's… interesting. So… you stayed in foster homes?"

"Yeah. That or alleyways. I was in a foster home when I ran away. The lady who was looking after me saw me packing and said I could come back any time and she would take me back in. She said she understood and handed me a knife. Said it was for the monsters."

Nico seemed surprised. "A Half-Blood?"

"Must've been. Nice lady, she was, but could only give me a steel knife."

The pair continued to talk for some time, only stopping briefly for lunch.

Nico looked down at his watch after a little while. "Jeez, it's time to get ready for Capture the Flag. Do you have any armour?"

"Nah. It'll just weigh me down."

Nico raised an eyebrow but nodded all the same. "Okay, each one to their own, I guess. Meet up with me on the battlefield, okay? I'll wait for you by Zeus's Fist."

"Okay."

Jackie waved goodbye and set off towards the Aphrodite cabin.

Piper was waiting for her. "Why did you sneak away from training?"

"Because you didn't bother covering the styles of fighting my weapons need. So, I went to chat with Nico instead."

"I bet he didn't talk much."

"Bet he did. Didn't you wonder where I was all swimming lesson? Or archery?"

Piper thought for a moment. "I didn't know you were gone."

"Exactly. I'm invisible everywhere I go. No one cares about the Unclaimed, do they?"

Piper stared in shock as Jackie crawled inside her small bedspace to get changed.

Piper, the Cabin Head for Aphrodite, had completely forgotten that Jackie had even existed. She couldn't let it happen again.

Jackie reappeared dressed pretty much the same, except she'd swapped her white shirt and jacket for a back sports bra. Her khopesh now hung across her back, no sign of her quiver at all.

She still had the knife strapped to her boot, but her trench knives were now strapped to her thighs.

The Aphrodite cabin walked out in single-file, Jackie once again at the back.

She wasn't there for long though.

Nico ran over to her, his black armour clanking noisily. "Hey! Where have you been? I waited forever!"

Jackie smiled. "Sorry about that, Nico, the Aphrodite cabin takes forever to get ready."

"Are you staying with the Aphrodite cabin?"

"Yeah, not that they even know I'm there. Piper forgot that I was even in her cabin."

Nico looked astounded. "That's not like Piper. She remembers everyone and everything, always."

"Well, obviously not today."

Somewhere in the distance, a horn was blown, signalling the start of the game.

Jackie started to draw her khopesh but thought better of it and drew her trench knives instead, lacing her fingers through the brass knuckles.

Nico had disappeared from view, so she charged forward, tracking an enemy that had run back from the borderline.

The footprints were fresh, she was sure of it. She dodged from bush to bush, tracking carefully and not leaving too many footprints of her own.

Finally, she reached what must have been the centre of the enemy's territory.

The flag was only a few feet away from her fluttering slightly in the breeze.

Jackie crept forward, ready to snatch it, when a cry of alarm rose into the air. She'd been spotted.

A huge girl dressed in red armour lunged at her, her spear held high above her head. "DIE!"

Jackie rolled aside, snatched the flag and ran. But where could she go? The beach! The sand would slow down the heavier Ares guards, but she could scamper across with ease.

Plan foiled. Three more guards appeared from the bushes, armed to the teeth with all sorts of weapons. There was only one thing for it.

Jackie slung the flag over her back and spun in a deadly circle, her arms outstretched and the trench knives pointing towards the Ares cabin's faces.

Blades cut at her face and abdomen, but she laughed, a sadistic maniac's smile playing on her lips.

"A BLOODY BERSERKER!" Screamed the Ares girl. "GET HER!"

The girl lunged at her, the spear now over her back and a sword in her grip. Jackie tried to dodge but got a sword straight through her stomach.

She coughed, blood leaking from her lips. The pain was too great, but she turned tail and ran, heading straight towards the border, the Ares girl hot on her trail.

She could see the stream just ahead of her, almost touch it in fact, but the girl behind her grabbed her by the neck and held the sword to her throat, cutting a thin line across the skin.

There was a yelled from behind her, stopping the girl from killing Jackie that second.

Mrs O'Leary and Percy stood at the top of the hill. "Clarisse! Drop her! NOW!"

Clarisse dropped Jackie on her head, nearly knocking the girl out. "Percy… remember when I caught you here last time? Did you come back for another shot?"

Jackie's vision blurred as she dragged herself through the frigid water of the small creek and up onto the opposite bank.

A loud horn was blown, signalling the end of the game. Chiron's voice could be heard across the entire forest. "Victory to Cabin 9, Hephaestus!"

The flag turned bronze coloured with a huge dragon in the centre of it.

Everyone looked around for who had brought victory to the Hephaestus team. Soon, gazes fell on the small, limp figure half hidden under the flag.

Nico gave a shout. "Jackie!"

He ran over to her and pulled the heavy flag off her. "MEDIC!"

Will Solace of the Apollo cabin ran over and started to attempt a healing of Jackie's belly wound.

Nice stood, black fire blazing in his eyes. "Who stabbed her? WHO?"

His horrifying aura was enough to make even the Ares cabin shiver. Finally, Percy spoke up. "Clarisse did it! She also cut Jackie's neck!"

Chiron glared at Clarisse. "Clarisse go wait for me in the Big House. Will, is she going to live?"

Will shook his head. "It's no use. We've lost her..."

"No. We haven't." Nico butted in. "There would've been a soul released. That's not happened."

Chiron suddenly cried out. "Watch out!"

A huge silver chariot came gliding over the sand towards the campers. "Step away from the girl!"

A female warrior, tall and proud stepped down from the chariot. Artemis, Lady of the Hunt.

Will and Nico stepped away from Jackie as Artemis approached.

With a wave of her hand, Jackie's wounds disappeared.

Nico was shocked. "Lady Artemis, w-why did you…?"

Artemis smiled gently. "All shall be revealed."

Artemis disappeared, but a new wave of shock rolled across the campers.

A silver stag hovered just above Jackie's limp figure.

Chiron knelt. "All hail Jacqueline Hunt, Daughter of Artemis."


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2: Daughter of the Hunt.

The news soon spread throughout the camp that Jackie had been claimed by the goddess Artemis. There was many arguments and theories, but no one could settle on one being the truth.

The camp continued to argue about it days later in the dining pavilion during dinner.

Chiron tried to calm down the campers, but it was no use.

Suddenly, an Iris message opened on the wall of the pavilion. Artemis could be seen on the other side of it.

Chiron bowed. "Lady Artemis, an honour. What is the reason for your call?"

Artemis's expression turned grim. "Chiron, I am calling about Jacqueline. I would like to clear up some rumours flying around.

Jacqueline is not my daughter. Yes, I claimed her, but she is not my daughter.

During a hunt some years ago, two of my Huntresses were killed by a hellhound. Instead of letting them die, I used their two souls to create one. That soul is Jacqueline.

She did not have a mortal parent, so I named her according to the names of the fallen who gave their souls to give her life. Their names were Jacqueline and Emma, so they became her first and middle names. Her surname is Hunt.

So, you see, she is not my daughter. She is the Daughter of the Hunt, so I ask that she is treated as you would treat one of the maidens."

Chiron nodded. "Thank you, Lady Artemis, for clearing that up for us."

Artemis nodded. "And, Chiron. Let the girl stay in whatever cabin she chooses. I don't want her to be alone again. Also, Thalia is bringing the Hunt to camp in a few days, so the maidens can meet who was once their comrades."

Chiron nodded. "Very well. We shall welcome them with open arms."

"Very good. I may accompany them, so I may see you again soon. Goodbye, Chiron."

"Goodbye, Artemis."

The Iris message faded, but the campers remained silent.

Chiron turned towards them. "There you are. Spoken from the lips of Artemis herself.

And, Clarisse, I would like to see you directly after the others have left, since you did not come to the Big House last night."

Clarisse nodded, her expression grave. She had avoided punishment last night, but she couldn't escape it forever.

The other campers dispersed, but Clarisse remained, just as Chiron ordered.

The old centaur stood next to Clarisse. "You do understand what you did wrong, don't you?"

"I fatally wounded another camper during what was meant to be a fun game." She said, almost regretfully.

"I was going to punish you, Clarisse, but I think you understand what you did wrong. I think you owe Jackie an apology and maybe a little something else, but I'll let you decide what."

Chiron passed her a bag of golden drachmas. "This is to pay for it. Choose wisely."

Chiron trotted off, leaving Clarisse to sit with her thoughts before going back to her cabin.

Jackie had been staying in the Big House ever since being claimed but was moved back into the cabins that night.

She found the Aphrodite cabin too noisy, so moved to the Hades cabin, giving Nico a surprise when he opened the door and discovered another sleeping bag on one of the bunks.

There was a note on his own pillow.

It read:

Hi, Nico. I hope you don't mind me bunking in the Hades cabin now. The

Aphrodite kids were starting to give me a headache, but I don't want to be alone.

I just went down to the beach to clear my head. I'll be back later.

From, Jackie.

Nico smiled. A roommate at last.

Jackie arrived back in the cabin almost fifteen minutes later. Nico was sitting on his bunk, reading a comic book.

"Hey, you're back! I want to talk to you."

Jackie nodded. "Ok."

"Look, about you moving in… thanks. I really wanted some company."

Jackie was a little surprised. "Ah… your welcome, Nico."

Nico nodded towards her bag, which was sitting on her bunk. "Why do you have such a huge bag?"

Jackie unzipped the large bag. "I had to bring something special with me…"

She pulled out another bag. Inside was a white and silver camouflage jacket, in the same cropped style as her black leather jacket, as well as a pair of white cargo pants, white tights, another white shirt identical to the one she usually wore and a pair of white leather biker boots with a sheath on the side for a knife and silver laces.

"My last foster carer gave these clothes to me, saying that they were from my mother. I kept them safe while I was traveling and didn't wear them, just in case. I guess she wants me to join the Hunt and become a maiden forever. But…"

Nico frowned. "But what?"

"But I don't want to be a maiden forever. At least, not yet. I wish I was older, just by three or four years, that way I wouldn't be too young to keep up with the others and too small to properly fight a monster. If I am to join the Hunt, I want to be a Huntress, not just a packhorse."

Nico nodded. "I could help you with that."

"Huh?"

"I can train you to fight as well as, or better than, me. Then, I could get Percy to train you further, to hone your skills and file off any rough edges I might've left behind after my training. That is, if you're willing to put in the work?"

Jackie nodded. "Sure. I'll do anything to earn more time."

Nico nodded, smiling happily. "We start tomorrow."

The next day…

Jackie parried Nico's sword blow for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

"Lean back less when catching a blow on your blade like that, or you'll get injured more easily." Nico called.

Jackie shoved upwards as hard as she could, throwing Nico off balance so that he landed on his back on the forest floor. She put the tip of her blade gently on the skin between his eyes, as to not actually cut him. "Checkmate."

She took a step back and helped him up. "Well done." He said, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "That's the third time you've beat me. I don't think it's beginner's luck anymore."

"Gee, thanks."

"No, what I mean is…"

Jackie chuckled lightly. "I know what you mean, Nico, it's okay."

Nico laughed with her as they walked back towards the cabins. The weather was warm and pleasant, a little hot to be dressed in jackets like the pair were, but still okay.

A few campers were battling a large, green sea monster in the lake, a few were playing volleyball, but most were just walking around or practicing sword manoevers.

Jackie's sword techniques were becoming more refined, but her knife technique would never change. She was a berserker with knives, there was no changing that.

The day was sleepy and slow, a rare treat for the half-bloods, especially since they'd fought Gaia only one year ago.

Festus, Leo's bronze dragon, was flying high above the camp as a scout. Suddenly a piercing shriek sounded across the camp. A monster of substancial size had entered camp and was heading towards the campers.

A loud siren sounded and everyone grabbed weapons and suited up in armour.

Jackie and Nico exchanged nervous glances and headed towards where the monster had entered camp.

They were amoung the first to arrive, only to be shocked at what they saw. Three dead cyclopes, shot full of silver arrows and only just starting to disintegrate.

A girl dressed in the same attire as Jackie, the white and silver of the Hunt but with a silver circlet around her head, stepped forward.

"Jeez, talk about a warm welcome. We've been hunting this lot for days… Oh, hi! I'm Thalia Grace, leader of the Hunters of Artemis."

Jackie was shocked. Most of the girls were no older than her, ranging from about 12, to 18 or 19.

Thalia led the Hunters up the hill. The male campers kept their eyes on the Hunters, but only from a safe distance. They knew what happened when they dared to approach to close.

Thalia looked up at Chiron. "It seems your campers have either learned their lesson from the last Hunter visit, or their all scared."

"I think they just learned their lesson, Thalia, no more cheeky comments please."

Annabeth ran over to Thalia and both started talking nineteen to a dozen.

Percy hugged Thalia too, but kissed Annabeth on the cheek.

Thalia smiled. "Well done, Percy, you chose wisely… Right, to business. Where's Jackie?"

Annabeth looked around. "Hades cabin with Nico."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Um, is that allowed?"

Percy held up a hand. "Nico would not cheat on Will."

Thalia nodded. "Ah, okay… Will? No! Don't answer, 'cause I never asked!"

Annabeth laughed and led Thalia over to the dark cabin. She knocked loudly. "Jackie!"

"I'm not coming out, so you can just take your fancy Hunters and stuff them…"

Annabeth kicked the door open. "Jackie! How dare…"

Jackie lunged at Annabeth, her knives outstretched, but Thalia knocked the blades away, but couldn't stop Jackie as she ran outside.

Nico shrugged. "I'm not a part of this."

Thalia called on three of her Hunters and took off after Jackie, who had run towards the lake where Percy was teaching some campers paddleboarding.

"Percy! You gotta help me. I don't want to become a maiden forever, please help!" She yelled, trying to hide behind Percy's back.

"There's a better way to hide, you do now that." He said, grabbing her wrist.

"What's that?"

"Hold your breath!"

Percy leapt into the lake, taking Jackie with him. A large bubble surrounded them and hid them in a thick kelp forest.

Percy turned towards her. "Why don't you want to be a Hunter?"

"I don't want to be a maiden forever. I want to be able to fall in love with someone one day. I won't be ruled over with their stupid pledge and rules. I won't!"

Percy gave her a look of pity. "I'm sorry, but there is no other way."

Jackie was ready to cry. "No! Don't take me back up there! Don't! Percy!"

The bubble began to rise slowly, but Jackie had other plans. She ripped her knife through the thin membrane, shocking Percy for long enough to start swimming away through the kelp forest.

Her chest was burning. She needed oxygen, and fast.

The sand on the beach was warm and soft beneath Jackie's hands as she crawled up the dunes, coughing and spitting.

Percy soon arrived, encircled in a large ammount of water that seemed to carry him.

"Hey, I know you don't want to go with them, but Thalia is kind and she will make sure you have friends."

"No she won't. She'll act just like the campers. She'll forget I even exist until I'm no longer there to do her work. Then she'll go trap another pitiful girl in her trap."

Percy gave her another look of pity. "I'm taking you back. I don't like it either, but it's the rules."

Another grip of water appeared beside Percy's and encircled Jackie's waist.

She began to cry. Percy made the water pull her close so he could hug her. "I'm sorry."

Soon she was back on the pier, her clothes were dry and so was her hair, but her cheeks remained damp from crying.

Thalia gave her a trying glance. "You can't run away from the Hunters of…"

"I can run away from you just fine. I just can't trust anyone to help me."

Jackie shot Percy and Annabeth a dirty look as she was led back towards camp.

Her trench knives remained in their sheaths, but not the khopesh.

Jackie spun the khopesh in a deadly arc as she unsheathed it, cutting the heads of the Hunters that surrunded her.

Thalia yelled and drew her hunting knives. "_Di Immortales, _girl, don't you ever give up?!"

Jackie gritted her teeth and smashed her khopesh into Thalia's knives over and over again, knocking the older girl back by several feet with each strike.

Thalia grunted. "Chiron warned me that you were strong. Should've listened to him, eh?"

Thalia shoved back from under Jackie's blade, but found that the height difference between them made it impossible to knock Jackie over. She was just too tall to make any difference to the younger girls balance.

Jackie, instead, jumped backwards to counteract the shock from the Huntresses shunt, then running forward and lunging at the Hunters chest and abdomen, using the length of her blade to her advantage.

Thalia stepped back lightly. If she hadn't, she would've been squewered. Jackie overcorrected when she pulled back from the failed lunge, almost falling over, but correcting with a well-timed and awesome backflip.

Suddenly, there was a yell from the crowd. "ENOUGH!"

Chiron stepped forward, carrying a young Huntress on his back. Lady Artemis.

The goddess jumped down from Chiron's back, subconsciously stroking him before walking towards the pair of fighters.

"I come to see if I have gained a new Huntress." Exclaimed Artemis, almost sadly. "And I find my own Liutenant fighting with my Claimed. Thalia Grace, what were you thinking?"

Thalia bowed her head. "She ran away from us. When we recaptured her, she attacked other Hunters and…"

"Did you just say _RECAPTURED?!_" Cried Artemis, almost unable to believe her ears.

"She ran away, My Lady! We had to get her back here to talk to her."

"SO YOU CAPTURED HER LIKE AN ANIMAL?!"

"My Lady, you are mistaken…"

"Oh, I don't think I am, Thalia." Suddenly, the goddesses voice was soft and dangerous. "You frightened her with those cyclopses when you made the 'immpressive' entance. Just with that, you made her believe that the Hunters of Artemis are about killing and maimining monsters and glory in battle."

Thalia stood straight, rooted to the spot. "No… I-I didn't mean it like…"

"We are about cooperation, bravery and helping young girls and women achieve things they never thought possible.

Thalia Grace. You are no longer worthy of the rank liutenant. Nor are you worthy of calling yourself a Huntress."

The crowds stared in horror as Artemis summoned her bow to her hand and drew a silver arrow from her quiver.

She was about to fire, when Thalia felt something grasp her arm.

Jackie was clinging to Thalia's arm, a look of terror in her eyes. "Stop!"

Artemis lowered her bow. "Jacqueline? What's the matter?"

"Thalia may not be worthy of being a Huntress in your eyes, but to me she's worthy of taking your place on Olympus!"

Artemis stared in shock and the girl's sudden outburst. "Pardon?"

"Thalia is braver than anyone I've ever seen. She has just been stripped from her duty as a Huntress, but she stands tall, even though you have drawn an arrow to her. She has just shown me what the Hunters of Artemis are all about. I want to be a Hunter."

The crowds gasped. Artemis's stare grew more intense, but she slung her bow over her shoulder all the same.

Thalia turned as white as a ghost at Jackie's words, but started to blush as she realised it was a compliment.

Jackie followed at Thalia's heels all the way back to the Artemis cabin in camp.

The inside of the cabin was decorated with the skins of many different animals, all of them rare and beautiful.

Jackie followed Thalia to the corner, where cushions had been piled up to make a wonderful sitting place.

"You didn't have to save me, you do understand that." Thalia said staring at the floor.

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to stand by and watch, now was I?" Said Jackie, sitting down next to Thalia.

"Ok, but do you really want to be a Huntress?"

"Maybe…"

Artemis entered the cabin. "Jackie, are you ready to become a Hunter?"

"I'm not so sure anymore... It would be fun, but I feel that I still have some life I want to live first."

Artemis thought for a minute. "I could offer you the pledge, but a little different. I can offer you the immortality and strength of the Hunters, but it will still appear that you are growing. And… I will allow you to fall in love. Once."

Jackie stared at the goddess. "You mean it? You really mean it?!"

"Yes. You can choose when you stop growing. But, once you fall in love once, you can't have another try. One boy or man only."

Jackie stared at the goddess, still shocked. "Really?"

"Really."

Jackie nodded. "I'll agree to that."

Artemis told Jackie the pledge and Jackie repeated it.

Finally, Jackie was a Hunter. Just a little different.

Exiting the cabin, Jackie was stared at by nearly everyone in the camp, which she didn't like.

Nico walked up to her. "So… you're a Hunter now, I guess."

"Is something wrong with that?"

"My sister, Bianca, was a Huntress. She died just days after stating the pledge."

"I'm sorry, Nico. But it was my duty."

Nico nodded. "I know. But I don't want to lose another sister."

"Pardon?"

Nico smiled softly. "The two girls that died, Emma and Jacqueline, the two souls that became you. Do you know why they died?"

"A hellhound attacked them, right?"

Nico nodded. "They were both children of Hades from thoudands of years ago. That's why the hellhound attacked them. They smelled like its home!"

Jackie let this sink in. "Which is why the hellhound attacked me in the forest!"

Nico nodded. "So, technically speaking, you'd be my sister."

Jackie laughed. "You need a brother, mate, you've got too many sisters."

"I don't mind. Hades will recognise me more if I'm the only boy."

"Good plan, bro."

The pair walked towards the dining pavilion, exclaiming how excited they were about Nico's discovery.

Everyone else was already tucking into lunch, including the Hunters, when Jackie and Nico entered.

All eyes followed the pair as they sat down at their table and began to eat, still talking between mouthfuls.

Thalia got up and walked over to their table. "Nico… why are you so interested in talking to Jackie? Aren't you normally antisocial towards the Hunters?"

Nico nodded. "But this is my sister."

Thalia frowned. "Bianca died… Hazel is at Camp Jupiter… what are you talking about?"

Nico nodded towards the Artemis table. "Some other Hunters told me about Jacqueline and Emma, the two Hunters that died. The hellhound attacked them because they were both children of Hades. That makes Jackie my half sister."

Thalia nodded. "Very well."

Thalia walked back to her own table and a few minutes passed before the pair were disturbed again.

Clarisse walked over, a nervous expression on her face. "Hey, Jackie? Can I talk to you please?"

Jackie gave Nico a terrified look, but stood all the same. Clarisse looked down at her worn old combat boots. "Um, about the CTF thing… I wanted to say sorry."

"Apology accepted, please don't do it again." Said Jackie looking at her own black boots.

Clarisse handed her a long, narrow box. "This is to say sorry. I heard from a Hunter that you were Hades kid, so I got you this."

Jackie took the box gingerly. "You sure this isn't a bomb?"

"I'm sure."

Jackie pulled the tape off the box and opened the tabs. Inside the box was a Stygian iron axe, three feet long and razor tipped.

"Wow, Clarisse, I don't know what to say… thank you…"

Jackie then did the normally unforgivable. She put her arms around Clarisse's shoulders, standing on tip toe to hug the taller camper.

Clarisse was stunned at first, but then hugged the young Huntress back.

Jackie let go after a minute so Clarisse could go back to her table, blushing bright crimson after the hug.

Jackie sat down next to Nico, allowing him to examine the axe. "This isn't pure Stygian iron. It's a blend of Celestial bronze and Stygian iron mixed into one, you can see the bronze flecks running through it. It's useful, but slightly showy."

Jackie gripped the strap attatched to the handle, slinging the deadly weapon over her shoulder, adding it to her collection. "I'll attatch it to my khopesh sheath later."

They ate the rest of their lunch, then left the pavilion to check the guard-rotation roster.

"Damn, we're next." Growled Nico.

Jackie patted his shoulder gently. "Let's take some snacks out with us. We're with Connor and Travis Stoll, so leave your wallet in the cabin."

"And lock the door." Added Nico, making both of them laugh.

Guard duty was normally very boring, but Nico and Jackie took a pack of cards out to pass the time. Soon, they only had five minutes left, with no incidents or missing belongings.

Suddenly, there was a low rumbling in the forest nearby. Nico drew hi sword and called for the Stolls, who appeared from the opposite direction, their usual cheeky grins replaced with grave expressions.

Jackie pulled her khopesh from it's sheath. "Let's go."

They crept forward, only to find themselves face-to-face with a hooded camper.

"Oi! What are you doing?!" Yelled Jackie.

The camper turned, only to reveal that they were wearing a mask over their face. A huge hole opened in the ground behind him and out leapt…

"A hellhound!" Screamed Jackie, dodging aside as it ran towards the small group. Connor tried to slash at it with his sword, but got his arm cut by a claw instead.

Nico charged the beast, trying to stab it, but he missed and got batted aside as the beast turned on Jackie instead.

The pit was behind it as it moved towards her. _"If I can get it to move backwards, it will fall into the hole." _

She stepped forward, glaring at the huge mutt with her fiercest face. It gave her a quick second glance. She continued to advance towards it.

Jackie roared, charging forward. The roar, which she thought would sound like a terrified scream, turned out to sound like an angry lioness protecting her cubs.

The hellhound stepped back slowly as Jackie moved towards it, followed by Nico, who had recovered from hitting the tree.

The beast's back foot hit the side of the pit. It looked down nervously, then back at the advancing demigods. It chose wisely, turning and diving headfirst into the pit.

Nico gave a cheer. "We did it! We did…"

Obviously, the hooded demigod didn't enjoy his hellhound running away. He picked up a large branch and threw it striaght at the two children of Hades, then turned and fled into the forest.

The branch hit Jackie square in the head, knocking her forward into the pit!

Nico cried out and ran to the edge of the hole, looking down to find Jackie clutching onto a small ledge.

"Grab my hand! I pull you up!" He yelled reaching out to her.

She shook her head softly. "I can't…. I can barely hold on… Any slight movement could cause me to fall."

Nico saw the Stoll brothers running towards them. "Hold on! The Stolls will know what to do."

Then he saw it. Blood, dripping from the back of her head. Her face was covered in sweat and very pale. She was about to faint.

Nico made a dangerous move and crawled forward, hanging half into the pit, so the he coud grab her wrist.

He felt Travis grab his ankles, pulling him back inch by inch. Jackie looked up at him. "Nico…"

She put her finger too her lips, kissing it gently, then reached up and touched it to the inside of Nico's wrist. "Fate is calling me, Nico, I must go."

She let go of his wrist, but he couldn't let go… couldn't let her fall.

"It might not go to the Underworld! You could fall into Tartarus!" He screamed down to her, pulling her up half a foot in the process. The sweat on her wrist made it hard to keep his grip on her arm.

Suddenly, she slipped, catching her fingers in his, just for a second. "See you down there… brother."

She smiled softly as she fell. Nico howled like a wounded animal, crying harder than ever before.

A small group of demigods, led by Will Solace, ran towards them, watching the pit close up right before their eyes.

Will knelt beside Nico, hugging the crying boy tight. "Hey, she'll be fine. You survived Tartarus on your own, didn't you? She'll be fine."

"S-She's not me." Nico whispered.

"You have no idea how similar you two are." Will whispered back, kissing Nico on the cheek. "If you feel that bad about it, go down there and ask your dad to help find her."

Nico nodded. "Thanks, Will. I guess I'll do that."

Nico kissed Will goodbye and Shadow-Traveled down to Erebos, the castle of Hades, Lord of the Dead.


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three: House of Darkness.

Jackie awoke to find herself lying in almost complete darkness. After allowing her eyes to adjust to the never-ending gloom, she had a rough guess at where she was. The Underworld.

Her head hurt a lot where the tree branch had hit her, but she otherwise felt fine.

She tried to stand, but ended up screaming. Her leg had been broken when she'd landed.

Thinking quickly, she dragged herself over to a rotten tree and pulled a lower branch off. She broke the rotting branch in half and strapped both pieces to either side of her leg, tying them on tight with a spare strap from her quiver.

Jackie tried to stand again and found that she could stand now with minimal pain.

She then used some precious water from her canteen to clean and dampen a bit of fabric from her shirt to tie around her head, so that the wound wouldn't get infected.

"Well, time to get moving." She told herself.

Even though she was tired, she knew it was too dangerous to sleep in the Underworld without someone else watching over her.

She trugded along the dark plains, counting her steps and solving maths problems in her head to stop herself from from going mad and sometimes stopping to rest her leg.

She could hear the screams from the Fields of Punishment sometimes. She tried to block this sound from her mind, knowing that it would just diminish her levels of sanity, if she had any left.

Too bad, she found herself crossing them.

Her fear slowly grew as she watched dark shapes dive out of the murky, red clouds above her to beat the Eternally Damned. Those figures… her last foster carer had told her about them… The Kindly Ones? No… that wasn't it…

"The Three Furies." She said aloud to herself.

One of the figures seemed to glance her way for a second, but soon found another Damned to beat up.

Jackie whimpered softly, a single tear tracing a line. "Nico… please find me soon… my brother."

Nico looked around the castle of Erebos, searching for his father.

Soon enough, he found himself in the main throne room. Hades was seated on an obsidian throne, speaking to a ghost servant.

"I want her chambers prepared for when she arrives, do you understand?"

The ghost nodded and faded at a wave of his master's hand.

Hades sighed and looked at the floor, almost sadly. His gaze slowly rose to the end of the room, where Nico stood, rooted to the spot.

Hades stared at his son, who stood half hidden in shadows. "Nico? Is that you?"

Nico took a step forward. "Dad?"

Hades stood and took a few hesitant steps forward. "Son?"

Suddenly the Lord of darkness ran towards his son, his ten metre size shrinking down to the size of a normal man.

He threw his arms around his son. "Nico… I haven't seen you since we fought in Manhattan. Where have you been?"

"A lot has happened, Dad, but I need to tell you something. It's urgent."

"How about you tell me about it over some of Persephone's homemade cookies? You look half-starved."

Nico followed Hades through into the dining room, where the Queen of the Underworld was sitting at the table, delicately eating a pomegrante.

She glanced up. "Oh, hello Nico! How are you?"

"Well. Thank you for asking, my queen."

Persepone smiled lightly at Nico's manners. "What brings you to Erebos?"

"Well, ma'am… something… _someone_ summoned a hellhound into Camp Half-Blood while the Hunters of Artemis were staying with us and…"

Persephone suddenly seemed interested. "Why were the Hunters at Camp Half-Blood?"

Nico told the two gods about Jackie and how Artemis had claimed her, even though she was technically a child of Hades and gotten her to join the Hunters.

"She's now either trapped in the Underworld or stumbling around Tartarus. I… I need to find her. I promised I'd find her."

Persephone looked up at Hades. "Darling, we need to help the boy. The girl must mean a lot to him if this desperate to find her."

Hades thought for a moment. "Very well. But, Nico, I can only send men across the Underworld. I cannot send them into Tartarus. If she fell into Tartarus, we won't be able to find her."

Persephone patted Nico's shoulder. "We'll try our best, Nico, don't look so upset. You can lead the search."

Hades shook his head. "You'll not be leading the search…"

Nico's face fell. "But, Dad!"

Hades smiled. "…Unless I can go with you."

Nico stared open-mouthed at his father, who proceded to ask Persephone to get his battle armour and the Sword of Death.

Nico felt close to tears. "Dad… do you really mean it? You'll... help me search for my sister?"

Hades pursed his lips. "I'm not sure yet if I will continue to allow you to call her my daughter, but, yes, I will help you find the girl."

Nico hugged his dad, who recoiled slightly, but hugged his son back after a moment. "Right, let's go."

The pair marched out of the castle, followed by an army of ghoul soldiers.

Hades' chariot was brought around the front of Erebos. He mounted it, carefully growing his size to ten feet tall.

A smaller skeletal horse was brought out for Nico, who mounted with practiced ease.

The dark soldiers clattered and clinked as their bones rubbed together and their armour shifted over what was left of their bodies.

"I want one quarter of you lot to search Elysium!" Nico yelled. "Another quarter can search the Isles of the Blest. One quarter to Ashphodel. And the last, follow my father and I to the Fields of Punishment."

The skeletons clattered as they marched towards their areas. Nico and Hades urged their horses on, followed by the army of skeletons behind them.

_"__Please be safe."_ Nico thought to himself. _"Please."_

Jackie stumbled past more tortured souls, trying not to look at them, for she knew that if she did, she would go mad.

Her food supply had nearly run out, as well as her water, but she trugded on forward.

Soon, she reached a small lake with beautiful fruit trees surrounding the edge.

There was also a man standing in the water, trying to grab fruit from a branch above his head, or scoop water from the lake around his feet, but failing bitterly at either task.

"Tantalus." She whispered under her breath.

The man turned towards her. "Who are you?"

"I… I'm…"

"If you don't answer me now, I yell for the Furies!"

"I'm not dead! My name is Jackie Hunt. I fell into the Underworld by mistake and ended up here on mistake too. I'm looking for my brother, Nico Di Angelo. Do you know where he may be?"

Tantalus stared for a second. "Erebos. Follow the skeletal soldiers when they change shifts in ten minutes."

Jackie smiled. "Thank you, Tantalus! And, I have a way to repay you."

Jackie passed him her last biscuit. He stared at it, but took it in his hand, then took a bite. A tear trickled down his face. "Thank you…"

Jackie passed him her canteen, offering the last mouthful of water. "Take it, go on."

Tantalus drank, but slowly, savouring the cool water flowing down his throat. He handed the canteen back after he had finished. "You're the nicest person down here. Thank you so much!"

Jackie smiled and walked off, waving to Tantalus as she went.

The skeleton's shifts changed, just as Tantalus had said, but it was dangerous following them. Too close and they would probably kill her, too far away and she would lose them. And it was a very thin line in between the two.

She dodged from tree to tree, following the warriors as they walked towards the home of Hades.

Suddenly the was a fercious scream behind her.

A Fury, swooping down to snatch her off the ground. "A live one! A live one!" It screeched at the skeletal warriors. "Get it! GET IT!"

Jackie drew her khopesh, swinging it in a deadly horizontal arc at the skeletons. They dissolved into dust, very confused expressions worn upon their bony faces.

Suddenly, the Fury swooped again, bearing down on Jackie with incredible speed. Jackie, the idiot that she was, dodged to the side and sheathed her khopesh, drawing her bow and noching an arrow.

"Die, you stupid old bat." She muttered, firing the arrow. It hit the Fury's wing, knocking her out of the sky.

"You can't get rid of me just like that, Honey." The monster growled, pulling the arrow out of her wing and chargng forward.

Jackie drew and arrow, dodging aside and stabbing it into the monster's face.

The old creature screamed, clawing at her face.

The two other Furies swooped from the sky. "Alecto! Sister, are you alright?!"

One of them turned towards Jackie. "Master will hear about this, mortal, he will."

"Good." Replied Jackie. "Tell him his daughter said hi and that she hopes to meet him in about an hour's time."

The first Fury, Alecto, drew the arrow out of her face. "Pardon, Honey? His daughter?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's me. I'm surprised Nico hasn't told you about me yet."

"We have heard none from little Hazel, none. Why do you come here now, Hazel Levesque?"

Jackie frowned. "I'm Jacqueline."

The Furies stared. "But… The young Mistress Jacqueline Rhode died nearly fourteen years ago. You can't be her!"

Jackie nodded. "I'm also Emma."

Alecto's face had healed allowing her to speak. "You can't be two people at once, stupid child, which are you?"

"Both."

The second Fury stepped forward and sniffed Jackie's face, recoiling violently. "She is! She is!"

Ugly Number Three stared. "What are you saying? She's two people?"

"Two souls bound forever by Artemis! A Huntress, one of the highest honours. A daughter of Master like no other! We must take her to Erebos! We shall be rewarded if we do!"

Alecto knelt down. "Climb on my back, child, we will take you home."

Jackie climbed nervously onto the Fury's back, careful of her broken leg, pressing her boot knife against the back of its skull.

"Any funny business and you get the tip of this knife appear between your eyes, understand?"

The Three Furies nodded cautiously. They took off, flying at great speed towards the fortress of darkness and safety.

Jackie laughed as the wind whipped through her hair. Alecto smiled lightly. The 'Young Mistresses' was happy, probably for the first time since falling into the Underworld. Hades would be proud to see his daughter happy.

The three guards for the Field of Punishment flew through the window of the throne room, startling a nervous Persephone as Jackie slid off Alecto's back. Jackie's leg flared up, but she caught herself on Alecto's shoulder.

"Thanks for the ride, Alecto." Jackie said, shaking the Fury's hand.

"My pleasure, Young Mistresses, my pleasure." The Fury replied.

Jackie pulled a confused expression. "Mistresses?"

"You are two souls, so plural title." Said Alecto, shrugging.

Persephone coughed. "Alecto, who is this?"

"The Young Mistresses, ma'am. The ones that Master searches for."

Persephone's face broke into a smile. "You found her!"

She knelt down and hugged Jackie. "Oh, you must have had a rough experience out there. Come, follow me child. Alecto take your sisters and go back to work. I will see that you get rewarded for this."

The Furies' screeches almost sounded like a happy bird's chirps. "Thank you, Ma'am. Goodbye, Young Mistresses."

They flew out of the window, leaving Jackie alone with Queen Persephone.

She followed the Queen out of the throne room and down a few passages to Persephone's own quarters.

After a warm bath, Jackie dressed in fresh clothes that Persephone had set out for her. A pair of black leggings, low-heeled boots and a fresh white shirt with her jacket over the top, freshly washed.

Persephone combed out Jackie's hair and braided it into hundreds of tiny braids while she talked.

"I've never done this on someone else before." She said, pulling one braid around the others to tie them back like a ponytail. "Actually, I hardly see any other girls or women during the three months every year when I'm down here. It's quite nice to see someone else apart from Hades or Nico for a change."

Jackie examined the braids in the mirror before turning back to Persephone. "You must get lonely down here."

Persephone nodded. "Yeah. And bored. There isn't much to do down here. Sure, I love my gardens, but there is only so much that I can do to them at one time. Hades won't let me go with him to see the dead, for he thinks I'll get hurt, so I have to stay here all the time. Sometimes I get out, but most of the time… I'm alone."

Jackie nodded. She knew what it felt like to be alone.

Persephone smiled and helped Jackie to her feet. "Do you want something to eat?"

Jackie frowned. She'd heard the stories about eating in the Underworld.

Persephone laughed. "Don't worry, child. Since you are a demigod of Hades, you can eat down here, but can escape the curse without harm."

Jackie nodded, still unsure. She trusted the Queen of the Underworld, but not well.

Persephone took her hand gently. "I swear on the River Styx, you will be able to leave and enter the Underworld and Tartarus as you wish after eating here."

Jackie suddenly trusted Persephone a whole lot more. A swear on the Styx, when broken, could cause immense pain and curses to the swearer, even to gods and goddesses.

Persephone led Jackie down the stairs, allowing the girl to lean on her shoulder as they descended.

They entered the family dining room, sitting down at the table as ghosts brought out delicious smelling foods and set them around the table.

Jackie placed some food on her plate, then turned to a brazier behind her.

"For Persephone and Hades." She said, tipping the whole plate into the fire.

A gorgeously sweet scent erupted from the flames, wafting towards the goddess, who was still seated at the table.

Persephone smiled and laughed lightly. "Thank you, Jackie. That was very kind."

Jackie smiled. "I owe you a thousand times more, My Queen, a thousand times more."

Nico sighed. They'd searched nearly the whole of the Underworld with no luck, no sign.

And no hope left.

Hades turned his chariot around, looking down at his son. "I'm sorry, Nico, but if she's not here…"

Nico shook his head. "I will continue to search tomorrow. I will find her, no matter what."

Hades shook his head. "Stay at Erebos for a bit first. She may turn up."

"Three days, no more. I have to find her."

They dismounted and walked up the stairs into the castle. Nico frowned sadly as they entered. "Dad?"

Hades glanced down at his son. "Is something wrong?"

"Can we grab something to eat?"

"Sure thing."

They opened the door to the family dining room, only to slam it shut again in shock.

Nico stared, wide eyed, at his father. "Did you see what I saw?"

"I think I did."

They entered the room. Persephone stared at them, her arms crossed across her chest. Jackie pursed her lips.

"Hi, Nico, it's nice to see you too." Jackie sighed, pulling a plate over for Nico and then shoving one towards Hades.

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Hades. Are you not going to greet her? She is your daughter."

Hades looked from his wife to Jackie, then back again. "Umm…"

Jackie sighed and told her 'father' and Nico what had happened, leaving out the part about Tantalus, just in case.

"And then Alecto and the others brought me here."

Nico nodded. "Makes sense, I guess."

Hades nodded. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Jackie."

Jackie smiled. "You too, Lord Hades."

Hades' stern expression softened a little. "I'm guessing you want to get back to the surface."

Jackie hung her head slightly. "Yeah. It's nice meeting you, but I miss my friends and I have to get my leg healed. We're out of nectar and ambrosia."

Persephone nodded. "Nico can take you back. Please, feel free to visit any time you like."

Jackie smiled. "I'll get Nico to teach me how to Shadow Travel."

Nico nodded. "We'd better get moving. See you later, Dad!"

Hades stood. "Hold up, you two."

Jackie had only started to move when he said this, so fell on the floor next to her chair.

Hades gave a concerned chuckle. "I've made up my mind about you, Jackie…"

He muttered a few words under his breath. A black helmet appeared above Jackie's head.

Persephone pursed her lips. "Hades…"

"I know, I know, I've got to take you out now, don't I? Jeez…"

Jackie looked from one god to the other. "Explanation please."

"I promised Persephone that every time I claim a kid after Nico, I had to take her out."

Jackie could not help herself. She burst into fits of laughter. Hades blushed and left the room, muttering something along the lines of 'Why do all girls laugh at me?'

His hasty retreat made Persephone laugh. "Oh, I haven't seen him blush like that in a hundred years."

Nico quickly pulled Jackie to her feet, wanting to get away before Hades decided to show his wrath for laughing at him.

Shadow Travelling was not Jackie's favourite way of getting to her destination, but it was better than nothing.

They arrived in the middle of the Camp Half-Blood dining pavilion during an evening mealtime argument.

Annabeth was screaming at the top of her lungs at Leo, who had apparently sent a mechanical spider into the Athena girls bathroom, making for some funny results at the embarrassment of the Athena girls.

Leo tried to play to his and the rest of the Hephaestus cabin's defence. "Hey, we didn't do that. It was Apollo's cabin…"

Will Solace rose to his feet. "WHAT DID YOU SAY, VALDEZ?!"

"I said that Apollo did it!"

Piper stood up. "Chiron, Apollo cabin were the ones that bribed Hephaestus into doing it!"

Chiron rubbed his temples. "And you know this how?"

"I just got an Apollo boy to tell me. They used some Celestial Bronze gears that the Hermes cabin stole for them."

Connor and Travis Stoll stood. "How _dare _you, you stupid perfume-intoxicated…"

Soon enough, the entire pavilion was in uproar.

Nico rolled his eyes. "You want to see them shut up?"

Jackie nodded sleepily. "Sure."

Three huge skeletons suddenly erupted from the ground. Campers screamed and ran to the edges of the pavilion.

Nico and Jackie burst into fits of laughter. Nico blasted the skeletons into dust, trying not to fall over with laughter.

Chiron swished his tail nervously. "I see that you have retrieved Jackie, Nico. The joke was unnecessary."

Jackie smiled as the Hunters dragged her among their ranks, ruffling her hair and slapping her on the back.

"That's our girl!" Thalia yelled. Jackie was lifted up onto the Hunter's shoulders.

She looked around desperately. Nico was walking away from the pavilion towards the Hades cabin.

Jackie leapt off the Hunter's shoulders, willing herself to be next to him. She fell into their shadows but kept falling.

It was cold, dark and fast, but by the end of her first Shadow Travel she was next to Nico, dizzy, but next to Nico.

Nico screamed, leaping back. "Oh my gods!"

Jackie screamed. "What the Hades?!"

Some of the campers came running down the hill towards them. The Helmet of Darkness was, once again, hanging above Jackie's head.

Chiron stared. "A-All hail Jacqueline Hunt, daughter of Hades."

Annabeth's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "How...? Claimed twice… it's impossible…"

Nico pulled Jackie to her feet. "Let's get back to the cabin before the others decide to start asking questions."

Jackie nodded. "Agreed."

The pair Shadow Travelled once more, ending up in their cabin. Although, Jackie had somehow ended up lying on her face in the middle of the floor.

Nico pulled her to her feet, being careful of her leg. "We have to get your leg checked out tomorrow, okay?"

Jackie nodded sleepily, falling into her bed, still fully dressed and asleep before hitting the pillow.

The same dream from nearly a month ago came back to haunt her again, with more details and in Ultra HD. For once, that was not a good thing.

The mysterious creature turned out to be a wolf, a huge wolf. Jackie was running through a forest, stumbling and falling, but getting back to her feet and continuing forward.

But something was off. Dozens… no, _hundreds_ of pairs of glowing eyes glared from the bushes. Wolves. Too many too hide from. Too many to fight.

Suddenly, she fell, giving the wolf the chance it needed. It pounced on her, it's face right in hers.

_"__You are young to be here."_ The wolf whispered to her. _"Barely a cub. A Greek cub, at that. Twice, be brave. You're going to have a long road ahead of you."_

Something caught the wolf's attention, making it growl. _"Stay strong, Twice. Now, go onwards to Rome!"_

Jackie sat up too fast, banging her head on the light that hung above her bed. She groaned, clutching her nose. Nico, the loving brother that he was, fell out of his own bunk laughing.

Jackie got a laugh out of that, since he had a top bunk.

Nico got up. "Right. Let's not talk about this again."

"Agreed."

After a speedy breakfast and a trip to the Apollo cabin, Jackie felt a lot better. She was still frightened about the dream, but let it go for now. Chiron had set up boat races weeks ago, so that the cabins had time to prepare.

Two racers in each boat, a boy and a girl. Cabins could team up for the races, but there was to be no more than two cabins in a team.

The winners would receive a prize of no dinner duty for the rest of the summer, which was one month. Naturally, after hearing this, only Athena and Poseidon teamed up. The other cabins wanted the whole month for themselves.

The length of the race was three laps around the canoe lake. No engines allowed, only sails and paddles, much to the dislike of the Hephaestus cabin.

You were allowed weapons though, which cheered up everyone. They all loved a game that included weapons.

Soon enough, boats were being made. Small boats, only big enough for two people ad a pile of weapons.

Jackie and Nico's boat was made of gorgeous ebony, with a thick sail and super sensitive rudder, just the lightest touch could turn it ninety degrees.

They spent the last night before the race talking tactics.

"Percy will be our biggest threat, especially with his skill to control the currents and the lake itself."

Jackie nodded. "So, we keep our distance, until we release our 'secret weapon'?"

Nico nodded. "Of course. But remember this, Annabeth will be expecting something like it, so watch out for her."

Jackie frowned. "I think I'll be able to get rid of Annabeth and Percy on my own, without the 'secret weapon.'"

"If you think you can do something, you can do it. Just, be careful."

And so, the strategy talks ended. It was time to go to war.

Jackie unfolded the sail, tying it off o that it didn't flap around wildly and take someone's eye out.

It was only the first lap and yet most of the weaker ships were being targeted and sunk. The Aphrodite cabin went down first, followed by the Apollo and Dionysus cabins.

Nico steered the boat around the corner. The Athena and Poseidon boat was way too far ahead to catch up to.

Nico nodded at his sister. "Send the warning."

Jackie pierced a piece of paper on her arrow, then shot it at the Athena and Poseidon mast. Perfect hit.

Annabeth pulled it off the mast and read it aloud to Percy.

Dear You Ignorant Fools, get ready for a splash. Love, The Hades Cabin.

Percy snorted. "What will they do? Nico's their most experienced fighter, but Jackie can't steer a boat. And anyway, we're too far ahead too…"

Percy's words caught in his mouth as Jackie materialised behind his girlfriend. The young girl kicked Annabeth overboard, then pointed her khopesh at Percy's throat.

"Aren't you going to go after her?"

Percy shook his head. "I think I'll kill you first."

He unsheathed Riptide and dodged under her blade, slicing at her leg. A bloody wound opened up just under her knee.

Growling Jackie kicked the rudder. The sudden movement caused the boat to capsize, throwing Percy over the side while he was off guard.

Jackie Shadow Travelled back to Nico. "Last lap." She croaked. Two consecutive Shadow Travels should have knocked her out, but she was still going, firing arrows at the remaining boats.

They crossed the line first, winning the boat race.

Percy and Annabeth gave them dirty looks all through the celebratory dinner but gave it up after Chiron gave them a dirty look back.

Will Solace once again healed Jackie's leg, but he couldn't get rid of the scar.

"Celestial Bronze leaves behind nasty scars. Here's you first one."

Jackie nodded. "Thanks Will."

She got up and grabbed her weapons. Nico kissed Will while her back was turned.

Soon enough, they were walking towards the Hades cabin. Jackie looked across at Nico.

"Don't think I didn't see you kiss Will."

Nico stared. "I-I…"

"Good on you, mate. Good on you."

Nico's tongue seemed to be tied, so he just blushed and nodded.

They went out and practiced fighting in the forest, carefully hiding whenever a harpy flew past. It was truly thrilling.

Nico led the way as they walked back towards the cabin. Suddenly, there was a bright flash and a bolt of lightning erupted in the air in front on them.

Nico tackled Jackie to the ground. All of the other cabins raced outside to see what had happened.

A couple of boys and a girl stood in front of them, one of which was rubbing his head.

"Ow… I'm never doing that again."

The girl squealed and tackled Nico in a hug. "Hey, little bro, how's it been?"

Jackie stepped forward. "What do you mean by 'little bro'?"

Nico pushed the girl off him. "This is Hazel. She's my Roman sister. Hazel, this is Jackie, my Greek sister."

Hazel offered her hand for Jackie to shake. "Hi there, Jackie."

Jackie took Hazel's hand gently. "Hi…"

One of the boys behind Hazel stepped forward. "Hi there, I'm Frank! That kid there is Jason, Thalia's brother."

It was kind of obvious, since Thalia was now hugging the kid called Jason.

Everyone started to crowd the Romans, hugging them, slapping them on the back, smiling and laughing.

Nico was shoved into the group. Soon, he himself was laughing along with the group.

Jackie was shoved out of the welcome. She choked back a sob and ran off.

Why was everything so confusing? Why did the Greeks welcome the Romans, but stare and avoid her whenever she walked past? The Romans had been the ones to conquer Greece, but she had done no wrong.

Jason climbed up onto the railing of the Zeus cabin porch. "Alright, that will do you lot."

They turned their attention to Jason, who called the other Romans up next to him.

"Look, sadly, we're not here just for a visit."

"You never are!" Percy shouted.

Jason grinned. "That'll do, Percy. Lupa sent us here to get help. Camp Jupiter and New Rome are being attacked by hordes of monsters and we don't know how they're getting in. Please, send some fighters to help us, or we'll be overrun in a couple of days."

Chiron stepped forward. "Of course we'll help, Jason, we'd be happy to. How many fighters do you need?"

"All of you."

Chiron suddenly became very pale. "P-Pardon? All the Half-Bloods? Is it really that bad?"

Jason nodded. "Grab your weapons guys. We'll lead the way."

Percy pointed to the pier, where a few boats were lined up. "We'll send some people by boat, others can go by pegasus, the rest will go with Argus in the camp vans."

Nico shook his head. "Jackie and I will Shadow Travel. It will be much faster."

"Can both you and Jackie take more than one person?" Annabeth asked.

"We can try."

Jason smiled. "Good. Go get her and you can set off now."

Nico called Jackie's name a few times, but there was no response. Percy searched a little way away and saw her on the porch of the Hades cabin with her huge bag. Thinking she was going to run away, he watched from behind the Poseidon cabin wall.

She unzipped the bag and pulled out… a guitar. An electric guitar? Why was she carrying that with her, all the way from San Francisco?

She strummed it gently, the sound was carried on the wind towards him. Obviously, there was an amplifier at her feet.

She began to play a gentle riff, but it grew stronger after a while. Percy stared. He'd never seen someone play like that.

She looked up and saw him, a horrified expression spreading across her face.

Percy put his hands up in an 'I surrender' position and walked forward until he was standing in front of her.

"Hey, Jacks, you never told us you could play guitar."

Jackie turned her face away from him. "It's a bass."

"I thought basses looked like giant cellos."

"It's an electric bass. Have you got kelp in your head or something?" Jackie said, her voice rising to an angry level. "I don't think anyone cares if I can play bass or not, so why should I tell them?"

Percy pulled a confused face. "Why are you mad at me?"

"Because you're just like the rest of them!" Yelled Jackie, lugging her amp and bass inside and dumping them on a spare bunk.

"You lot stare and whisper whenever I walk past, you walk away when I ask for help with something. When Nico and I won the boat race, you shot us dirty looks until Chiron had to tell you off. Then the Romans arrive. You treat them like your brothers and sisters, but you treat another Greek like dirt! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Percy felt and looked ashamed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you felt like that…"

Jackie stared him straight in the eye, tears falling down her face. "Yes you did! You knew exactly how I felt, because people did it to you when you were claimed! Nico told me that you'd told him, so don't lie. You knew exactly how I felt, but you just kept going, you didn't think about it at all!"

Percy hung his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't think."

Jackie's breathing became heavier as she cried. "Why? Why do they pick on me?"

"Because you're different." Was the only answer that Percy could come up with.

He put his arms around her as she cried, nuzzling the top of her head. "It's okay, it will be okay."

He sat down on one of the bunks, pulling her across onto his lap. "Grab your weapons. New Rome is under attack and they need you to transport some fighter there with your Shadow Travel ability."

Jackie sniffed. "They… need my help?"

"Sure they do. They're just nervous around you because you're more powerful than them."

"M-More powerful?"

Percy smiled. "Course you are. You've been claimed by two powerful gods and are made up of two souls. Lupa, the She Wolf, called you 'Twice' for that very reason."

"A… wolf?"

"Yeah."

"Twice?"

Percy frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"I had a nightmare. A huge wolf pounced on me and told me I was no more than a cub, but I had to head to Rome."

Percy nodded. "It all happens when it happens. Now, get ready to go to Rome."

He smiled once more and left the cabin.

Annabeth ran up to him. "Is she all right? Did she agree to Shadow Travel?"

"Course she did. She's just grabbing her weapons. Ah, speaking of the devil."

Jackie was dressed the same as when she fought in the game of Capture the Flag. Black sports bra, black jeans and boots, though her hair was still in the tiny braids that Persephone had done for her.

Her quiver, axe and khopesh were all strapped onto her back and her trench knives in their sheaths on her thighs. Her new silver bow was gripped in her hand.

"Let's go." She said, looking up at Percy.

Percy ruffled her hair. "Come on, kiddo. You'll be taking Chiron, Jason and Piper. Nico's already taken Leo, Frank, Hazel and Will."

"I have to take Chiron and two others? Isn't that a bit much?"

Percy knelt down next to her. "If you think it's too much, I won't make you do it."

Jackie put on a defiant expression. "I'll prove I can do it!"

Percy chuckled. "That's the true Greek spirit. Go on. What are you waiting for?"

Jackie ran off to where Chiron and the others were standing, under the Lone Pine Tree on Half-Blood Hill.

Chiron put his hand on Jackie's shoulder. "Are you sure about this?"

"As sure as I'll ever be!"

Chiron nodded, but said no more. Her Hunter immortality would keep her safe. Wouldn't it?

Jason placed his hand on her other shoulder. "So, you're Twice?"

"Yep."

"Nice to finally meet you, Twice. I'm Jason, Piper's boyfriend."

Jackie nodded. "Alright."

Piper placed her hand on Jackie's cheek. "Be careful."

Jackie grinned like a manic. "You say that like I'm never safe."

Piper smiled softly. "Don't let this be the last thing you ever do."

Jackie nodded. The whole group stepped into the shadow of the tree and Peleus the dragon, disappearing.

Jackie imagined Nico. That was where she wanted to end up. Next to Nico.

The cold was overwhelming. It wasn't working.

She then pictured the Coliseum, but brand new. Glistening marble in the sunlight.

The temperature rose a little, but it still wasn't working.

One last try. That was all she had.

SPQR. The tattoo that Jason had on his arm, but on a huge golden staff, under an eagle. A roman eagle.


	4. Chapter 4

Part Four: The Defence of Rome.

They ended up in the middle of a stage erected in the centre of a Coliseum. Crowds leaned forward in their seats, screaming and gasping for breath.

Chiron shied a little. "I… I guess it worked."

Jason waved to the crowds, showing them that it was alright. "We Shadow Travelled here. Sorry for the scare, guys, but we bring good news. The Greeks are sending _all_ of their forces to protect us!"

The crowds cheered. Some whistled, others shouted chants for the victory of Rome and Greece.

Jackie's knees collapsed beneath her. Chiron caught her. "Whoa! Nectar, Jason, hurry!"

The cheering ceased and the whispering started. Who was that strange girl?

Chiron poured the godly drink into Jackie's mouth, rubbing her throat to make her swallow.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Ow…"

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth but stopped once Chiron poured more nectar into her mouth.

Jason nodded, down at Chiron who nodded back up at the boy.

Jason smiled back at the crowds. "It's all okay! She hasn't Shadow Travelled with anyone before!"

The crowds seemed to accept this excuse, cheering as Jason led the group off the stage, Chiron half carrying Jackie down the stairs.

A huge white wolf stalked over to them as they entered one of the dug-out like pits at the side of the arena.

"Twice… brave, strong and resilient. But stubborn and you do what you think is right, no matter what others say."

Jackie hung her head. "I…"

"Have done no wrong. You are one of the strongest demigods I've ever met, even if that strength only covers your mind and your heart."

Jackie looked up, straight into Lupa's eyes. "Thank you…"

Lupa opened her mouth, panting, which made it look like she was smiling.

Chiron smiled. "It is nice to finally see you again, Lupa. Where are the monsters coming from?"

Lupa's expression turned grim once more. "Jason, take them to the camp. I must stay here with what remains of my pack."

Jackie slipped out of Chiron's grip, standing on her own two feet. "What do you mean by 'what remains of your pack?'"

"Half of the wolves numbers have been wiped out already by attacks. They are guarding the perimeter of New Rome. The people left in the city are mainly women and children, or those too old to fight any longer. The wounded and sick demigods take shelter within the walls, but we are running out of medical supplies to help them. When are the rest of your forces arriving?"

"Whenever they get here. I can't control the speed of which they travel." Chiron replied.

Lupa tapped her claws on the marble floor. "Are you telling me all that we got in return for our distress message was a centaur, a few confused demigods and two bedraggled Shadow Travellers?"

"Yep."

Lupa snarled. "I can't stand this! I'm going on patrol. Praetor Zhang will take you the campsite we set up for you _Graecus." _

Chiron nodded. "My apologies for the lack of support, Lupa, but you must understand that we are also bringing supplies by ship and more men by air."

Lupa suddenly became interested. "Did you say supplies?"

"Yes. Nectar and ambrosia, plus other medical supplies, food and blankets."

"Thank the gods! I will have to speak to you later, Chiron. Good luck!"

Lupa ran off, other wolves joining her as she ran out of the Coliseum. Soon, they were out of sight.

Jason pulled on Jackie's shoulder so hard it nearly dislocated. "What's the big idea?! You dump us in the middle of the Coliseum and then collapse?"

Jackie looked up at Jason. "What? I-I aimed for an eagle! It was a last resort, I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it, kid. You better start running, before I…"

Piper pulled Jason back by his arm. "Jason! Stop! She did her best, alright? She's barely Shadow Travelled before, let it go!"

Jackie didn't hand around to hear what Jason said in reply to this. She turned and fled, tears running down her cheeks. Chiron yelled for her to come back, but she didn't listen. She followed the corridor that the wolves went down, finding her way out of the Coliseum and then running down a paved road, where it led was a mystery.

Soon enough, she was completely lost. The road that led back to the Coliseum led her to a crossroad. She took a random path that led her up onto a mountain lookout. It looked over the whole of New Rome and Camp Jupiter.

She sat on the edge of the cliff, looking out at the horizon. Suddenly, something moved in the bushes nearby where she was sitting. She drew her khopesh.

"Who's there?" She called, the adrenaline kicking in. "Where are you? Show yourself!"

A dog leapt out of the bush, baring it's teeth. It was made purely out of metal with ruby eyes.

Jackie screamed, the only thing keeping her from running away was the cliff behind her. There was only one way out and that was to fight.

Jackie lunged forward, stabbing at the dog's chest. It moved aside and bit her on the forearm. It was just a nip, but it still hurt a lot.

She hit it over the head with the flat of her blade. "Back! Get back!"

The dog bit her again, but on the leg instead. And, this time, he didn't let go.

Jackie screamed in pain as it's metal teeth dug themselves into her flesh. The dog started to drag her off the path, taking her through the bush that he had leapt out of.

She screamed again as the beast's teeth tore through her leg. The thorns on the bush ripped at her arms as she was dragged through.

She tried to hit the dog with her khopesh but missed and dug it into her own leg. She screamed again, her voice ripping through the air.

"Argentum? What have you done?!"

A tall girl in Roman armour rushed over to where the dog now sat with its tongue hanging out, awaiting praise. The girl shoved him aside and smacked him for good measure.

Jackie tried to crawl away from the girl. "Leave me alone… get your maniac dog and leave me alone, curse you!"

The girl ignored Jackie and tore off Jackie's trouser leg just above where the wounds were. Jackie kicked out with her good leg. "Leave me alone!"

"Do you want to die? Argentum's bites will kill you unless you let me treat them!" The girl answered back.

"Why should I care? I don't want help from a Rom…"

"We are comrades, soldier. Let me treat your wounds, then you can explain what you're doing away from your post."

The girl rubbed a thick white cream all over Jackie's leg. "Can you stand?"

"How would I know? I thought you lot were meant to be smart…"

The girl stiffened. "Can you not tell a Praetor when you see one?"

Jackie got into a battle-ready crouch. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The girl blinked. "What? A new recruit?"

"You could say that…"

"My apologies. Because of the rushed meeting, I think we should introduce ourselves now. I'm Praetor Ramirez-Arellano, but just Reyna will do fine."

"I'm Jacqueline, but I prefer Jackie."

Reyna smiled and pulled Jackie to her feet. "Welcome to Rome, Jackie. I have someone you must meet. He is kind, but a little strange at times. You will be welcomed with open arms."

Jackie nodded, not really certain of what Reyna was saying.

"I apologise for my dog's actions. We are the victims of a series of attacks by an army of monsters at the moment, so everyone is on edge."

Jackie jogged to keep up with Reyna. "That's kind of why I'm here."

"Pardon?"

"I brought the first of the troops from Camp Half-Blood. I'm a daughter of Hades, but I'm also claimed by Artemis."

Jackie swore she could see the blood draining form Reyna's face. "Y-You're… the one Lupa mentioned… Twice?"

Jackie gave a quick nod. "Yeah, why?"

"I thought you were a new demigod here to join the Roman army. I… made a mistake as it seems."

"Yep. Big mistake." Replied Jackie.

Reyna continued down the hill, muttering an apology now and again.

Chiron and Jason had searched most of the afternoon trying to locate Jackie. When they saw her walking down the hill with Reyna, a wave of relief washed over them.

"Jackie!" Chiron shouted, waving at her.

Jackie looked over and saw the old centaur, but then saw Jason standing beside him.

Reyna smiled. "Is that Chiron down there, Jackie…? Jackie?"

The young demigod had dived into a bush. "Don't give me away!"

Too late. Jason pulled Jackie out of the bush by the strap on her quiver.

"Put me down, you…" Jackie used a few words that weren't polite in either English or Ancient Greek.

Jason gave her a concerned look. "Should you know words like that at your age?"

Jackie muttered something about stupid Romans and tried to kick Jason's nose. She very nearly succeeded.

Chiron jogged over to them. "Put her down, Jason."

Jason dropped Jackie roughly on the ground. She scrambled to her feet, kicking Jason's shin as she did so, then hid behind Chiron.

"Jackie, why are you afraid of Jason?" Asked Reyna, kneeling down to Jackie's level as Jason clutched his bruised shin.

"Ask one of them! I'm gone!" Said a small blur as Jackie turned and fled, Jason hot on her heels.

Chiron sighed. "Jackie's Shadow Travelling ability has not become completely stable yet. Long story short, she landed Piper, Jason and I in the middle of the Coliseum. Jason had to get us out of there. He got mad at her and hit her. She ran away. She's scared of him, but it seems she's not afraid to hit him back."

Jason stalked up to the pair again, carrying Jackie at arm's length by her quiver strap once again. His eye was now a wonderful shade of purple and blood seeped out his nose.

"Someone could have warned me that this brat knows Taekwondo." He said, wiping away the blood from his nose.

Jackie screwed up her face. "He didn't tell me he could fly, so I didn't tell him I knew Taekwondo."

Her voice sounded funny, so Reyna forced the girl to open her mouth. The Praetor gasped.

"JASON! You kicked out her tooth?!"

"No. I punched it out."

Jackie swatted at Reyna's hand. "No big deal. It wasn't an adult tooth. Just a back tooth that hadn't fallen out yet."

Reyna snarled at Jason. "No difference."

Jason dumped Jackie on the ground again. She kicked him in the shin again.

He swore. "Same spot! Why you little...!"

Jackie scrambled towards Chiron, seeking safety. He lifted her onto his back. "That'll do Jason."

Jackie grinned. "Yeah, Jason!"

"You too, kiddo. Don't kick Romans from now on."

Jackie groaned. "But he dropped me on the ground. And, it's fun to kick someone older than me."

Chiron reached back and ruffled her hair. "I know, but it just makes them mad."

Jason scowled and walked off, well, limped off. Reyna scratched her head. "He's normally kind to new demigods. I don't get what's bothering him."

Chiron walked alongside her. "Maybe he didn't like being dumped in the middle of the Coliseum full of people. That can be quite nerve-racking."

Reyna nodded, not entirely convinced. "I'm guessing that we'll eventually find out. Come, I'll show you to where you'll be staying."

Chiron and Jackie followed Reyna down the road towards Camp Jupiter. There was a large camping area set up on a grassy area nearby to the main camp.

Huge tents, possible of holding up to seven or eight people each, were lined up in neat rows along the grass. Comfortable sleeping areas were lined up inside the tents.

One tent was set apart from the others. Inside it was a simple mattress on the floor.

"Who sleeps here?" Jackie asked.

"Me." Answered Chiron, smiling. "I'm not your common horse."

"Of course you're not!" Jackie said, putting her arms around his human shoulders and hugging him.

Reyna smiled. "Tonight the monsters will attack again. They rarely attack during the day, so I hope your recruits will join us soon."

Chiron nodded. "The pegasus riders will arrive within the hour. Percy and the fleet of boats will have to stop at the nearby coast and carry the supplies inland, so will arrive later."

Reyna nodded. "So long as they arrive before dark. Or else it will be impossible to protect the camp or New Rome."

Jackie patted Reyna's shoulder. "It'll be fine. You have good defences and better fighters. We'll get through this."

She slipped off Chiron's back and ran off to find a suitable tent. Reyna chuckled. "She has quite the spirit, doesn't she?"

Chiron looked down at Reyna. "What happened to her leg?"

"Argentum took her as an enemy and attacked her. I had to rip her trouser leg to heal it, that's all."

Chiron rolled his eyes. "Trust you two to meet like that."

Reyna bushed and left Chiron to unpack. He dumped his saddlebags next to the mattress and then examined his bow and arrows, sharpening them where necessary. It was less than 3 hours until sunset.

"Please get here safe." He whispered, standing in the doorway of his tent.

He didn't have to wait long.

The pegasi had brought the riders safely to Camp Jupiter and Percy was now leading the bedraggled and somewhat sick-looking sea travellers up to New Rome with the much-needed supplies, briskly followed by Argus and his group of Half-Bloods that had travelled by road.

Chiron gave a sigh of relief and told the councillors what was happening. They ran off and sorted out the ranks of Half-Bloods alongside the remaining Romans.

Only one Half-Blood stood aside and that was Jackie. She had been shoved out of the neat lines because of her small size and because she was new to camp.

Chiron took pity on the small camper and got her to stand next to him at the front of the ranks as he gave orders.

"Percy! Take the Hermes and Hephaestus cabins to lay traps in the hills. Annabeth take the Athena and Ares cabins down the frontline on the Southern Camp border. That is where the monsters will enter.

Leo and Piper take any remaining cabins along with Annabeth but stay in ranks behind her. If the archers need vantage points, there are cliffs near the Southern border. Use those. Go!"

The cry of "FOR CAMP HALF-BLOOD!" rang in the valleys as the organised lines broke into mad gangs of bloodthirsty maniacs as they ran off to their appointed posts.

Reyna looked up at Chiron. "How do you keep them under control?"

"I don't." Chiron said. "I'm surprised they stayed in line for that long."

Reyna ran off to join Frank in rallying their own troops.

Chiron lifted Jackie onto his back once more. "You can come with me to the frontline, that way you don't get beaten out of the way.

Jackie hugged him again. "Thanks, Chiron."

"No problem."

The old centaur dropped Jackie right at the front, then retreated back into the centreline.

The sun had set almost ten minutes ago. Sweat trickled down the necks of all the Half-Bloods at the front.

Suddenly, there was an almighty roar and the monsters charged forward, brandishing clubs and axes.

The fear among the ranks quickly exploded to become adrenaline-fueled malice as the brave (or stupid) Half-Bloods and Romans ran to attack the enemy before them.

Jackie was swept along with the rush, tossed around like a rag doll before finally reaching the line of monsters.

A couple of sword moves later, and she was considered one of the gang. She was no longer shunted out of the way, but instead played the part of another comrade and friend.

Around midnight was when their fates changed for the worst.

A huge serpent, a _drakon_, started to slither towards them, fangs bared.

Clarisse growled. "Oh, I haven't seen you since the second titan war. Come back for another bite, you big ugly brute?"

The drakon roared. Clarisse charged, a red aura glowing around her body.

The Half-Bloods cheered as the two met in combat.

A dozen more children of Ares and Mars charged forward to aid their sister, but the others kept their distance.

Jackie cheered along with the others but had to cut her cheer short when a cyclops attacked her. It wasn't fully grown but was still a menace for a small kid like her to deal with.

"Help me!" She cried.

But no one came. The beast slammed it's club down on her. She caught it on her blade but struggled to keep it from crushing her.

"Artemis! Help me!" She called, but no one heard. No one came. No one cared.

She did the only thig she could. She threw herself backwards, then charged forward again, stabbing the cyclops through the chest.

It howled but didn't die. She looked at her blade and understood. It had snapped, leaving only a few inches of Celestial Bronze connected to the grip. Most of the blade was stuck in the giant's club.

She shoved the khopesh grip into her sheath and drew her trench knives, hoping that they were enough to kill it.

She stabbed and shoved her full weight into the stabs and lunges.

The beast swatted her blades aside and grabbed her around the waist. She screamed, but no one came. They were too busy fighting their own fights.

"Please. Let me go! I promised my mom I'd make it home. Please." She begged, not really sure of where the 'mom' part came from.

The cyclops laughed, then it's voice changed to mimic Artemis's. "You see, she is not my daughter. She is the daughter of the Hunt."

Jackie growled and stabbed her blades deep into the cyclops's hand. It roared and dropped her.

She landed on her feet and lunged at its belly. The next thing it knew was that it had its guts spilling everywhere.

Leo, who was once again riding Festus, had witnessed the whole fight. He retched. The last part was disgusting, even on demigod levels.

Festus swooped down and landed next to Jackie. "You okay?" He asked.

"GET BACK IN THE AIR! DO YOU WANT US ALL TO DIE?!" Screamed Jackie.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said.

Jackie rolled her eyes and retrieved the other piece of her khopesh form the cyclops's club. Her trench knives would have to do for now until she could get her main weapon repaired.

Reyna roared more orders at the Romans. They jumped into lines, their spears levelled at the enemies, but they themselves were hidden behind their shields.

"ADVANCE!" Yelled Reyna. The Greeks watched in awe as the Romans charged forward, destroying every monster in their way.

Soon, the crazy massacre began again. Screams of 'Kill 'em all!' and 'For the Glory of Rome!' rose up around the battlefield.

Chiron's arrows flew straight and true, whistling through the air above the demigods and taking down a monster with each shot, but it would never be enough to destroy the entire army of monsters.

The monsters surged forward. Many demigods were crushed to death beneath the rampage of monsters. Others were killed by swiping claws. Some by being slammed against the side of a cliff face.

Jackie roared and charged forward, leading the demigods to meet the onslaught of enemies.

She didn't have to.

The drakon was finally defeated, it's body landing square across the battlefield, like a hugely disgusting barricade.

Clarisse and her siblings climbed to the top of the drakon's corpse.

"DEATH TO MONSTERS!" They screamed, killing any monsters that dared climb the corpse to get at the demigods on the other side.

Suddenly a cry went up from behind them.

The Hooded Demigod, the same one that had summoned a Hellhound at Camp Half-Blood, was now attacking Chiron.

Chiron had drawn his sword, not his favourite weapon, and had deflected the first attack, but was now bleeding form a dozen or so wounds.

Suddenly, his enemy found a way past Chiron's defences, stabbing the centaur straight through the ribcage.

Chiron coughed up blood and collapsed to his knees.

The Demigod laughed. "So long, Pony Boy."

He raised his sword, preparing to kill Chiron, but his blade slipped and cut open a shallow gash Chiron's human chest instead.

Jackie had stabbed him through the shoulder. "Don't. Touch. My. TEACHER!" She screamed, kicking at the Demigod's head.

He picked up his blade in his off hand and made a desperate move to hit her. He missed his initial target, her arm, and instead sliced open her face.

She screamed, blood dripping from her right eye. "_Di Immortales! _I can't see!"

Her opponent laughed. "Ha! Stupid girl! You can't… ARGH!"

"Jokes." Jackie said, stabbing through his thigh with one of her silver arrows.

He stumbled. "You won't get away with this. You know you won't."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Jackie ran over to the fallen centaur. "Chiron! Speak to me, come on!"

Percy knelt next to her. "Mrs O'Leary! Take them back to New Rome, hurry!"

The Hellhound obeyed, picking up Chiron gently between her teeth and waiting patiently as Jackie was lifted onto her back.

Percy nodded up at her. "Go gently. See you tomorrow, girl."

Mrs O'Leary gave a quick whine, turned and ran toward Camp Jupiter.

The medics immediately began work on Chiron's chest wounds. He was taken back to his tent after a while and they turned their attention to Jackie's eye.

It was too late to save her right eye, so they patched her face up and gave her a sterile eyepatch.

Will patted her shoulder. "You'll be fine. Just rest."

"Thanks, Will." Was all she said while she was in the makeshift hospital.

She picked up her weapons and left, stumbling towards the Half-Blood camp. Camp Jupiter looked very different at night.

Soon enough, she found herself at her destination. She then started searching for one tent in particular…

Chiron was lying on his side, his white fur still tainted with blood. The pain was incredible, but the healers said that the painkillers would kick in in about twenty minutes after he left the hospital.

There came a knock at the door. "Chiron? Is this your tent?" Said a muffled voice from outside.

"Come in." He croaked.

The door opened and the was a loud bang. "Ow! Argh, I ran into the door."

Chiron turned his head to see who had entered his tent. Jackie stood there, rifling through her backpack.

"Jackie? Why are you here?"

"You aren't the only one that got injured, buddy." Jackie replied, showing him her eyepatch. "I lost my eye and my pride to that moron."

She lay a thick blanket over Chiron, then proceeded to wipe the last of the blood off his coat, being careful not to touch the delicate stitches.

He winced. "That was you who protected me?"

"Bingo! Give this centaur a prize!"

Chiron chuckled. "No need to be cheeky."

Jackie grinned. "It's a skill."

She wiped the excess water off of Chiron's chest with a towel and then pulled the blanket straight.

She went back to her pack and pulled out a book, then sat down next to Chiron and began to read.

After a moment, Chiron got curious enough to ask her some questions.

"Why did you come here?"

"To make sure you were looked after properly. You're not dying until you've taught me how to shoot an arrow like that."

"What book are you reading?"

"Treasure Island. Do you want me to read it to you?"

"Please do. I like that book a lot."

Jackie smiled and began to read. Soon enough, Chiron fell asleep, not that it mattered. She fell asleep only a few moments after him.

When Will came to check on Chiron later, he found the centaur asleep. He smiled when he saw Jackie asleep on the floor next to him, her hand grasped in his own.

Sunrise came like a blessing to the weary demigods. The monsters retreated once again back out of the Camp Jupiter borders, hiding in the shadows of the forest.

Percy found Mrs O'Leary asleep under a tree next to his tent when he went to grab his stuff to go to the baths.

She woke up and sniffed him all over, the decided it was playtime, knocking him over and tickling him with her giant nose.

"Hey! I missed you too! Stop it!" He gasped in between giggling fits. Annabeth whistled, calling Mrs O'Leary off Percy.

"Don't do that, Mrs O'Leary! You have no idea where he's been!" She told the dog, loud enough for Percy to hear.

"Hey!" He shouted.

Annabeth took off, Percy hot on her heels.

Jackie was awoken by this noise. She watched from the doorway of Chiron's tent as Percy tackled Annabeth into the dirt. The pair started wrestling.

These antics continued for a few minutes, before Annabeth managed to end up sitting on Percy's back.

Jackie shook her head and called down to them. "You two, start acting your age!"

"We are!" Came the indignant reply.

Piper walked over to Jackie. "How's Chiron?"

"See for yourself."

Piper peeked into the tent. Chiron was sitting upright and reading another book that Jackie had found in her pack.

Piper smiled as she saw the title of the book. "Norse mythology?"

Jackie shrugged. "It's interesting. A little confusing, but interesting."

Piper nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. See you later."

"Bye, Piper." Said Jackie, closing the door as her friend left.

Jason rolled his eyes. "No. Reyna, come on, I'm not going to apologise to that little brat."

Reyna scowled. "I will make you, you do understand that."

"I'm not going to. Not until she proves herself."

"Did you not see what she did last night?!" Yelled Reyna.

"She nearly got eaten by a cyclops, big deal."

"She saved Chiron's life, but lost her eye doing so. How did you not see that?!"

"I was probably getting a wound checked out. I remember the medics going nuts about someone with a chest wound, but I was sent back on field before I saw who."

Reyna nodded. "That was Chiron. The procedure on him took so long that there was no time left to help Jackie until it was too late to save her eye."

Jason stared at the Praetor. "Are you serious?"

"Yep."

Jason pursed up his lips. "I have an idea on how to apologise. I've got to go see Leo. Bye Reyna!"

Reyna didn't have a chance to say anymore before Jason had run off towards the forge.

Jason walked towards Chiron's tent holding the small box in his hand. He knocked on the door, readjusting his new shin guards first.

Jackie opened the door. "Yes…?"

She yelped and dived behind Chiron, who was now standing up. "It's him! He's come to kill me!"

Jason chuckled. "I haven't come to kill you, I've come to apologise."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Jason, this may not be the best time…"

Jason ignored Chiron's comment and continued, adjusting his glasses.

"I heard about what you did last night. I wanted to give you something to say sorry, so I got Leo to make this."

He opened the box. Inside was a bronze eyepatch with a leather strap. The eyepatch had two tally marks on it.

"The marks are to symbolise your nickname, Twice. I hope you like it."

Jackie stepped forward and allowed him to put it on her. He was gentle around the stitching on her face.

"There. I think that's better than a small medical one, hey?" He said passing her old one back, just in case she needed it again.

She touched the smooth bronze, tracing the tally marks. "Thank you."

She then did the highly unexpected and hugged Jason.

"Apology accepted. Thank you, Jason."

He looked up at Chiron who shrugged and smiled.

Jason pulled out of the hug. "I have to go on patrol. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later." Said Jackie, waiting until he had left before turning to Chiron.

"He really is weird, isn't he?"

Chiron smiled softly. "I wouldn't say that to his face if I were you."

Jackie smiled back. "I won't."

Dinner that evening was alight with chatter, especially when Chiron joined Lupa and the Praetors at the Head Table.

Jackie was also invited to the Head table, but she declined, saying she didn't need everyone staring at her and instead went and sat next to Nico.

"Hey bro." She said, taking her place.

Nico jumped a little, then smiled. "Jackie! Are you okay?"

"Just a sec…"

She moved from sitting on his left to sitting on his right, that way she could see him without turning her whole head.

"That's better. It's nice to see you again." She said, smiling up at him.

Nico frowned. "Are you going to fight again tonight?"

"Yeah, of course. Unless something comes up, I'm going to fight. Why?"

Nico looked at his plate. "You're half blind. I don't want you to be stabbed on your blind side because you couldn't see. Please, just for tonight, hang back."

Jackie shook her head. "No. Nico, I'm sorry, but I have to do something to help. I'd feel terrible if I didn't."

Nico frowned. "Then… stay with the archers tonight. Just tonight. Please."

Jackie laughed. "I can't! What if a Hellhound shoved me off the cliff? I saw how often they Shadow Travelled up there to get at the archers. No. I just had my khopesh fixed. There's no way you can stop me fighting."

Nico nodded and changed the subject, knowing he was defeated.

They continued to talk for the rest of the night, until the sunset bell went off, telling the fighters to get to their duty.

Jackie pulled her khopesh out of its sheath, leaving everything except it behind.

The night was so dark that Jackie wondered if she had her eye closed. They lit lamps and lanterns around the gorge, trying to light up the battlefield enough to see by.

The number of lanterns only allowed them enough light to tell the difference between friends or foes.

Chiron had hung back tonight since his chest wounds were still causing him pain.

Jackie looked up at the moon, the only thing visible in the night sky.

"Keep me safe, mom." She prayed, hoping she wouldn't be vaporized for calling Artemis 'mom.'

Percy patted her on the shoulder. "Be careful tonight, you hear me? I want to see you alive and with all your facial features as they are now."

"You too. See you later, Percy." Jackie said, shaking Percy's hand.

Pollux, Dionysus's son, suddenly gave a cry of alarm. "They're here!"

Reyna soared overhead on a pegasus. "Romans! Present arms!"

The Romans drew their spears and swords, getting into their lines as fast as they could.

Reyna drew her own sword. "ATTACK!"

She leapt down from her pegasus, leading the charge into the horde of monsters.

Percy raised his sword. "Follow that lot of Roman maniacs!"

"FOR THE GODS!" The whole army of demigods yelled, their battle cries rising towards Olympus, slowly engulfed in the sounds of the battle below.

Jackie whirled in her signature attack, killing all the monsters in a direct circle around her.

Percy summoned water from barrels that other demigods had brought down earlier in the day, dousing some basilisks and then slicing them into dust.

Nico summoned row upon row of skeletal warriors, until Will told him to stop.

But, no matter how hard the demigods fought, the monsters just kept coming. The fallen lay around the battlefield, their bodies crushed, and blood slipped on as the remaining warriors waded past them to get at the ranks of_ dracaenae _and cyclops.

Reyna charged forward, leading another wave of Romans into the thick of the action. Percy yelled at the Greeks to retreat and regroup.

Jackie was shunted out of the Greek lines, until Percy took hold of her shoulder and dragged her to the front.

"Stay by me and Jason and you'll be fine." He whispered in her ear.

To everyone else, he shouted. "CHARGE! TAKE THEM DOWN AT ALL COSTS!"

Percy led the charge and, once again, Jackie was dragged along with the crowd.

The sun rose the next morning to greet the demigods. They called blessings to Apollo, then set to work gathering the dead and the injured.

Jackie had a gash across her cheek but had otherwise escaped unscathed. Which was more than she could say for others.

Connor and Travis both had broken ribs. A few Aphrodite kids had fainted when their heads were bashed together and were now suffering mild concussions.

Percy had stepped in a rabbit hole and broken his ankle. Annabeth and nearly suffocated herself laughing at him.

Leo had a broken nose and didn't believe the healer when she told him that his nose would look even better than it did before.

Everyone was exhausted, thirsty and starving.

But duty was duty. Demigods could be seen making and repairing weapons, building traps and sharpening logs, tipping them in Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold to use as battering rams against the larger monsters.

Chiron was walking around again, but he wouldn't be fighting again for weeks. He resolved basic arguments around the camp but did no more than that. Having him around again was a huge comfort to the Greeks. The Romans found the Greeks newly relaxed nature comforting.

So, everyone was happy.

Reyna walked over to Jason, who was trying to organise some medical supplies.

"Hey, can I have a word?" She called.

Jason nodded. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Jason… it's just… Where is Lupa and her wolf pack? They should be here."

Jason peered over Reyna's shoulder. "I think we're about to find out."

Lupa herself came running over. "Praetor! There is trouble within the forest! Send a fawn, hurry!"

Grover Underwood, a Greek satyr, ran over. "What's wrong?"

"A wolf, not one of my pack, but a wild wolf, is in trouble. She needs immediate attention, hurry!"

Grover grabbed his satchel. "Show me the way."

The satyr ran from the room, following Lupa with ease. Reyna caught Jason's elbow as he tried to follow.

"Don't. This is a Wild matter. Let them deal with it by themselves."

Jason frowned, but obliged, turning back to his work at organising the supplies.

Reyna helped him, constantly peering out the window for any sign of Lupa or Grover.

After a few minutes, Jackie ran into the room. "Reyna! There's an issue. The Mars soldiers and Ares campers were trying to decide who's stronger. Again."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "What happened?"

"The Mars kids lost and have been dared to walk into the forest and not come out until nightfall."

Reyna's face turned white. "Damn! Thanks Jackie, I'll see that it doesn't happen."

The Praetor ran off, leaving Jason to complete the sorting by himself.

Jackie picked up a box of bandages. Jason shook his head. "They'll have to be rolled again. You Greeks have no skill in packing this stuff."

Jackie used her boot knife to open the box. "I'll roll them. Will taught me how."

Jason nodded and the pair worked in a friendly silence.

Finally, Reyna returned. "Both parties are safe. Both have kitchen duty for the next week."

Jackie smiled, looking past Reyna. "Hey, there's Lupa!"

Reyna and Jason both ran to the window, then outside.

"Is everything alright?" Called Reyna, her voice hopeful.

Grover shook his head. "The wolf died. It turns out she was attacked by a monster in the forest."

Lupa stepped forward. "She was to be a mother today. Only one cub lived."

Grover showed Jason and Reyna a small bundle of silvery fluff that was curled up in his jumper.

"I can't care for a carnivore. Can either of you look after it?"

Reyna shook her head. "My dogs are too rough. I'm sorry."

Jason's expression turned grim. "I can't. I don't have the time for a pet."

The whole group turned to look at Jackie, who was trying to teach one of Lupa's pack how to play dead.

"Jackie! Come here!" Called Lupa.

Jackie walked over, totally oblivious to the wolf following her from where she was trying to train it.

"Yeah? Is there anything I can help with?"

The wolf whined and flopped on its side, poking out it's tongue and sticking it's legs out.

Jackie knelt down and rubbed it's belly. "At least you listened to me."

Lupa growled, not liking Jackie's attention to turn away while she was trying to talk.

"Jackie, a wolf in the forest was attacked by a monster. She died, but her cub lived. Do you think you can take care of it?"

Jackie looked at the cub wrapped in Grover's jumper. "Of course. All the other Hunters have pets. I think I could take care of this little guy."

"Girl." Grover corrected.

Jackie pulled the cub out of Grover's filthy clothing. It was a dark grey with white markings on its face and nose, a fluffy white tummy and white feet.

"Yep. I can take care of it." Jackie said, cuddling the baby wolf to her chest to keep it warm.

Reyna could have sworn Jackie's heart had melted. The look of affection on Jackie's face made it obvious that she loved the little fluffball above all else.

"Did you name her?" She asked Lupa. "I wouldn't want to change her name if you have."

Lupa shook her head. "She has no name. Since you are now her 'mother,' you must name her yourself."

Jackie thought for a moment. "Dusk."

Lupa tilted her head to one side. "Why?"

"Because that's the time. It's dusk."

The group quickly dispersed, running to their tents to prepare for the imminent fight.

Jackie emptied out her small field pack, wrapping the wolf in a blanket and slipping her inside of it to keep her safe.

Jackie picked up her khopesh and began to head out the door when the pup howled, calling for its new mother's loving touch.

Jackie felt like crying. The wolf sounded almost like a human baby crying. She took pity on the pup and took off her own jacket, which was still warm from her skin.

She tucked it into the field pack, kissing the cub's nose before zipping the pack almost fully closed.

Leaving the pup behind felt awful, but she had a full night of fighting ahead of her and wasn't about to let her feelings get in the way of protecting hundreds of innocent people.

The walk to the gorge felt a hundred miles long, but, when she finally got there, she wasn't disappointed.

Huge barricades had been constructed along the width of the gorge. The sharpened logs were lined up along the barricade, pointing towards the monstrous onslaught, which was gathering along the border's edge.

Jackie looked up at the cliffs and saw Nico arguing with Will, who was trying to organise the archers.

She Shadow Travelled to the top of the cliffs, landing between the two boys.

"Hey, why are you fighting?" She asked.

Nico stepped forward. "I want to go and investigate where these monsters are exiting the Underworld from and stop them."

Will scowled. "You can't Shadow Travel or summon the undead in your current state. I won't let you go."

Jackie rolled her eye. "I'll go. I can summon the undead and Shadow Travel when escape is necessary. I could also try and close off wherever these guys are coming from."

Nico frowned. "Can you really summon the undead _and_ control them?"

"Sure." (That was a huge lie.)

Nico's frown deepened, but he didn't ask any more questions. Will smiled triumphantly.

"Well, it's settled. Jackie's going, you stay behind with me, Death Boy."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Jackie left immediately, before they started to argue again.

The forest was creepy and dark. Very dark.

She was walking through the undergrowth on the side of the path that the monsters had formed. She was good at tracking and not leaving tracks, so this was an easy job.

Another heap of _dracaenae _slithered past her. She pulled out a multi-way radio and switched it to connect to Annabeth's

"Annabeth! Jackie here. Prepare for snake ladies. Over."

"Thanks. We'll give them some Greek fire as a welcome gift. Over and out."

Jackie clipped the radio to her belt and then ran on to a different spot.

She was nearly at the end of the line of monsters. Hellhounds, Hydras, even the Bronze Bulls.

Another radio call, this time to radio three. "Percy! Get the water barrels ready for later tonight. The Bronze Bulls have joined the party. Over."

"Oh gods, we are so dead. Over and out."

Jackie ran to the next bush before putting away her radio as a Hellhound had begun to sniff the air around where she had been.

The monsters were coming out of a hole in the ground, either from the Labyrinth or the Underworld. From the strange aura surrounding the hole, it led to the Underworld.

Jackie imagined skeletal warriors rising from the ground to fight for her. Nothing happened for a moment, then the skeletons rose up from the ground and started to kill the monsters.

She summoned another few waves of skeletons, then cautiously approached the hole. No more monsters were coming out of it, so that was good.

She imagined it closing up so tight it never opened again. Summoning the skeleton warriors had weakened her, but the hole began to close.

The work was very slow and very tiring, but about half an hour later the two sides began to merge together, and the pit was no more.

Jackie managed to get back to the safety of the bushes before passing out. It was just too much.

Reyna saw the monster's lines of fighters were starting to thin. It was light work from there onwards to destroy them.

Hazel and Percy made light work of the Bronze Bulls. Hazel summoned bits of Celestial bronze off of their bodies and Percy poured water into their touchier electrical systems.

Leo and Festus blasted the last line of monsters to dust with a huge eruption of flame.

Cheering arose from the remaining demigods. They'd won. They'd survived.

Nico ran into the forest, followed by Percy, Annabeth and Jason. They saw the dead skeletons and the closed pit, but there was no sign of Jackie.

The four of them searched the surrounding forest, calling her name, until Percy cried out.

"I've found her!"

They ran over to where he stood, Jackie clutched in his arms.

Annabeth felt the girls temperature. "She has a fever. Let's get her back to Camp Jupiter. _Now._"

The four Half-Bloods ran back towards the camp, Percy in the lead, Annabeth second, Nico third and Jason bringing up the rear. It had been a long night, but it wasn't over yet.

Cold. It was cold. Was she dead? Dying? If she was thinking she couldn't be dead, right? Warmth. Someone had touched her cheek. That certified that she couldn't be dead.

Jackie opened her eyes. Annabeth took her hand away from the younger girl's face.

Jason and Percy were sitting in the corner, dozing off every few minutes. Nico kept poking them to wake them up.

"Where…?" Jackie asked, too tired to finish the question.

Annabeth smiled softly. "New Rome. Go back to sleep, you shouldn't be awake right now, not in your condition. You were very brave tonight."

"N-No braver… than you would've been. I only did it… because it was the right thing… to do."

Annabeth's smile widened. "You're a good kid. Go to sleep, we'll talk more in the morning."

Jackie obliged, closing her eyes and falling into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

The next day at Camp Jupiter was all about honouring the dead. Dozens of burial shrouds were lined up and set alight.

Jackie was almost one of them. Her level of energy was down to nil. Her fever was giving her a terrible headache and she'd had so much ambrosia and nectar that she didn't dare have anymore.

Nico and Hazel had actually made her a burial shroud, just in case.

It was black velvet with tiny silver chains looped around it and a silver bow embroidered on top.

Thankfully, it was empty when they burned it.

She watched as they burned the shrouds. Hers was on the very end, empty, but beautiful.

"Shame I wasn't buried in it." She said to Nico quietly at breakfast. He snorted and choked on his water.

Hazel pounded him on the back. "It was very pretty."

"I'm going to make an order for one like that when I really die." Jackie said.

Nico nodded. "Well, you came close to needing it. Don't you ever scare us like that again."

"If I promise that, I'll probably scare you worse."

"Mm… yeah, don't promise anything."

Jackie and Hazel laughed. Nico pulled a face but ended up laughing too.

Jackie got up and left after a few more minutes, going straight back to the tent.

Chiron was half asleep but woke up when she opened the door. He stared at her with wide eyes.

"I thought… that shroud…" He stuttered.

Jackie shook her head. "Just a preparation. They thought I was going to die, but here I am."

Chiron shook his head, smiling. "Well done. I'm glad that you're alive. Someone had to take care of your wriggling backpack."

Jackie looked down at the pack and, sure enough, it was wriggling around on the floor like a decapitated Hydra head.

She knelt down next to it and undid the zipper.

Dusk tumbled out, whimpering and trying to find out where Jackie was. Jackie grinned and scooped up the tiny pup and cuddled her, allowing the baby wolf to lick her face gently.

Chiron looked at the wolf with some sort of interest. "I hope you understand that we don't allow pets at Camp Half-Blood."

Jackie's look of horror made him laugh. "I can make an exception."

Jackie sighed with relief. "Thank you, Chiron. Lupa entrusted her to me, I have to make sure nothing happens to her."

Chiron nodded. "You should probably find a more permanent housing solution than your field pack."

"Yeah, but it works for now."

Jackie tucked Dusk into the pack, then pulled it onto her back. "I'll go get her something to eat. See you later Chiron."

Chiron nodded. "Later."

Jackie left the tent, Dusk still in the pack. The pup was so young that her eyes weren't even open yet, which made her all the more vulnerable.

Jackie went up to the dining hall, which was empty except for Reyna and the other Praetor, Frank Zhang.

"Jackie! There you are, I was wondering where you were." Said Reyna, coming over and shaking Jackie's hand.

"It's because of you that New Rome is safe. I am eternally grateful to you."

Jackie pulled her hand away before Reyna broke it in her grip. "Thanks, Reyna, but I only did it because Will made Nico stay behind and Hazel was busy."

Reyna's smile didn't waver for a second. "I know. But you still had a choice. You took the more dangerous job and saved the camp. I must repay you for that."

Frank walked over. "Pleasure to meet you, Jackie. I'm Praetor Zhang, but Frank is fine too."

Jackie nodded, turning back to Reyna. "Do you know where I could find something for Dusk to eat?"

Reyna took Jackie to the kitchens, where they found a small bottle of goats milk. Jackie used a syringe to feed Dusk.

As soon as the puppy was full, she fell asleep. Reyna sat the sleeping ball of fluff on her lap and stroked her gently.

"Frank? Can you bring 'it' in here please?"

Frank grumbled something about being a Praetor and not needing to wait on people anymore but retrieved 'it' from the dining hall.

'It' turned out to be a long white box.

He passed it to Jackie, then went to the cupboard to look for a cookie.

Reyna nodded to Jackie. "Open it."

Jackie did as she was told. Inside was an Imperial Gold buckler, a small shield that could be strapped to the wrist. It was shaped like a flame, the tips pointed up her arm for more protection.

"May I?" Asked Reyna. She strapped it onto Jackie's left arm carefully, making sure the gold armband didn't pinch the skin beneath.

"There you go. It looks very nice." Said Reyna, inspecting the small shield carefully.

Jackie checked it out too. The same symbol that was on her eyepatch, two tally marks, was in the centre of the shield.

"Twice." She muttered under her breath.

To Reyna she said. "Thank you, very much. It means a lot to me, but knife moves would be compromised with the buckler on. I might not be able to…"

Reyna held up her hand. "That is where you are wrong. Tap the engraving two times in quick succession and see what happens."

Jackie did so. The buckler shrank to become only part of the armband, a piece of Imperial Gold that covered three quarters of her forearm.

"Cool." Was the only intelligent thing she could come up with.

Reyna clipped a matching armband to Jackie's right arm. "This one is not a buckler. We didn't have the time to make another. I'm sorry."

"Doesn't matter. I like it just as it is."

Jackie scooped up the fat little cub off Reyna's lap. "What do you think, Dusky?"

Dusk yawned and whined a little as Jackie tucked her back into her field pack. Reyna gave Jackie a concerned look. "Why are you putting the cub into your backpack?"

Jackie raised her eyebrows. "Do you expect me to carry her everywhere? Now, if you'll excuse me Praetor, I need to have the stitching in my face removed."

Reyna nodded. "I'll see you later tonight maybe?"

"Meet you at the table in the corner?"

"Done."

Jackie left, walking down the hill towards New Rome. The armless statue at the gate didn't give her any problems entering the city, just as long as she left her boot knife with him.

She went straight to the makeshift hospital.

"Will? Are you here?" She called.

Will walked over to her. "Hey, right on time. Come this way please."

He sat her down on one of the empty beds. "Take off your eyepatch please."

She unclipped the catch, gently pulling off the patch. Will took out some sort of paste and wiped it along the injury, dissolving the stitches.

"Ooh… that doesn't look pleasant." He said, passing her a mirror.

The scar went from the hairline above her left eye to the base of her ear of her right, straight through her right eye, which had turned completely white.

She felt close to tears but put on a brave face. "I can get some of the Aphrodite girls to suggest some make up to cover it."

Will helped her fasten the eyepatch over her eye again. "I hope I don't have to heal any more of your wounds for a while."

Jackie smiled. "Thanks, Will. I'll see you later."

Will nodded solemnly and walked off. It was still early morning, so Jackie decided to go and check on her favourite pegasus, Marshmallow, who had been flown by Annabeth to get to Camp Jupiter.

The stables were huge, even though Camp Jupiter only had a couple horses.

Annabeth was at the stable, arguing with a Roman.

"What do you mean he was hit last night? He wasn't mine! I promised he'd come home safe!"

Jackie got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Annabeth? Is something wrong?"

Annabeth whipped around. "Nothing happened to Marshmallow!"

"I didn't ask about Marshy."

Annabeth slapped her forehead. "_Vlacas!_"

Jackie caught Annabeth's wrist. "What happened?"

The older girl stared down at Jackie's face. "He was shot down last night. Last anyone saw, his rider had survived. He died when a cyclops broke his neck. I'm sorry."

Jackie let go of Annabeth's wrist. "Let's go do some sparring."

"What?!"

"I said 'let's go do some sparring.'"

Annabeth pulled a confused face, but drew her sword all the same, the ivory glistening in the sunlight.

Jackie drew her khopesh, dropping her bag under a nearby tree so that Dusk didn't get hurt.

Annabeth was a skilled sword fighter, but Jackie's strangely shaped blade made it a challenge for her to get a good shot.

Jackie defended most of the time, sometimes giving Annabeth a tip on how to defend or attack against a khopesh.

The two girls continued to spar for almost half an hour. Annabeth began to note differences in Jackie's usual style, which was normally rigid and definite. Her movements also seemed more in defence then assault, which was strange for the younger girl.

Annabeth, of course, used this to her advantage.

She slammed her blade into Jackie's so suddenly that she nearly decapitated her.

Jackie recovered from the strike quickly, shoving Annabeth back. She opened her buckler, feeling that she would need it.

Annabeth smiled. "Oh, so you want to bring magic items into this, do you? How do you like this!"

Annabeth pulled out her Yankees cap and stuck it on her head. She was immediately invisible.

Jackie stared at the point where Annabeth had been only a moment ago. "That's not fair!"

"Sure it is. You got a buckler, it get my hat."

Jackie swung her blade towards the sound of Annabeth's voice.

Nothing. Just air.

She felt something trickling down her arm and an intense pain. Annabeth had wounded her.

"Hey! This was a 'no marks' match!" Yelled Jackie.

Annabeth chuckled. "Oops."

Jackie tried to hit her again. Another miss.

"Close your eyes. Locate me by sound alone."

Jackie did as she was told. Something moved, not far away from her, on her left.

She swung her sword and felt something clash against it. Annabeth had launched another attack and she had caught it.

She shoved up and back, knocking Annabeth onto the ground. She put her foot on top of Annabeth's leg, stopping the older girl from moving.

"Checkmate." She said, pulling the Yankees cap from Annabeth's head.

Annabeth snatched her hat back. "Yeah, yeah I get it. Beaten by a thirteen-year-old."

"I'm fourteen on Monday."

Annabeth glanced up at Jackie, feigning uninterest. "Really? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Jackie sighed, checking the sharpness of her khopesh. "Because everyone's been busy fighting. I didn't want to bother anyone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wolf cub to attend to."

Jackie picked up her backpack and left Annabeth staring after her.

Camp Half-Blood felt strange after being at the Roman camp. It felt… smaller.

But, soon, the Half-Bloods had settled back into their usual routine. Everything felt normal.

But even that bliss wouldn't last.

Soon enough, the Hermes cabin were pulling pranks on everyone. The Ares cabin were almost always the victims of these antics.

One afternoon, only three days after they got back, Clarisse cracked.

She stormed over to where Chiron was talking to Jackie about an archery technique. Shoving Jackie out of the way, she glared up at the old centaur.

"I've had it! Chiron, get those _idiots _to stop pestering my cabin, or there will be trouble."

Chiron rubbed his temples. He still wasn't fully recovered from being stabbed and didn't have the energy to be faced with this.

"Clarisse, I can't deal with this right now…"

"You can't ever deal with the Ares cabin problems. You're always willing to help the Athena or the Hephaestus campers when they have a problem, but never Ares, because…"

Chiron stared down at the girl before him. "CLARISSE!" He roared. The other campers in the vicinity backed away slowly, except Percy, Annabeth and Jackie.

Chiron's voice became soft and deadly. "Clarisse, you're outstepping your authority. Again. I have had just about enough of your childish complaints. The Hermes cabin pull jokes because that is the thing they find amusing. I have a terrible headache and was trying to teach Jackie a horizontal archery shot, until you came along."

Clarisse wanted to back away, but her feet wouldn't move. "I-I didn't mean to… I didn't… I won't… I…"

"You don't care about other people or what they are trying to accomplish with their time. All you want to care about is yourself. And that goes for the rest of the Ares cabin too. I am through with you lot. I kept my patience until now, but this! This is the last straw! The entirety of your cabin can miss out on the last meal at the end of the Summer, unless you pull your game together. Understand?"

Clarisse nodded, her eyes as large as dinner plates. "Y-Yes Chiron. Understood."

"Now go. I don't want to see you again for the rest of the day."

Clarisse finally worked out how to move her legs and ran off, desperate to get away from the Activities Director.

Chiron sighed and turned back to Jackie. "Sorry about that. Shall we continue?"

Jackie stared up at him, to frightened at what she'd just seen to move. "I… um…"

Percy and Annabeth ran over and pulled Jackie to her feet. "Are you okay?"

Jackie didn't take her eyes off Chiron for another few moments, then hid behind Percy.

"Please don't yell like that." She said, her voice muffled by Percy's shirt.

Annabeth touched Chiron's arm gently. "Chiron… I think we need to talk."

Percy led Jackie away gently while Annabeth and Chiron walked towards the Big house.

"Chiron, I think you went a bit far. Clarisse was just letting off steam. The Hermes cabin have been picking on the Ares campers a lot lately, so it's understandable that she…"

"No." Chiron interrupted her. "Clarisse has to be taught her place. She can't just go and take her anger out on me, or anyone, whenever she likes. She is a camper, just like the rest of you. She has to stop demanding people do things and expect them to obey her."

Annabeth nodded. "You're right, Chiron, but you scared the Hades out of Jackie. Yes, Clarisse was knocked into place, but Jackie was right there. She was scared stiff. If Percy and I hadn't been there, I reckon she would've fainted. Did you see how white she was?"

Chiron nodded soberly, leaning on the porch railing. "How do think I can make it up to her?"

Annabeth leant next to him. "Her birthday is on Monday. I was wondering if you could let me get her a gift? You could get her one too, privately of course."

Chiron looked at Annabeth, an amused smile playing on his lips. "You just want an excuse to get her something, don't you?"

Annabeth blushed, but Chiron patted her shoulder. "We can go into town tomorrow. But, Nico comes too. He is her brother."

Annabeth nodded. "Thanks, Chiron."

Chiron nodded. "See you tomorrow then."

"Sure. See you tomorrow."

Annabeth ran off to her cabin, leaving Chiron on the porch by himself.

He hit the railing post with his fist. "Damn. Why did I have to yell at Clarisse?"

He continued to rack his brain for the answer, but the only thing he could come up with was…

"… I yelled because I couldn't control my anger." He told himself quietly.


	5. Chapter 5

Part Five: Happy Birthday.

Annabeth looked over the shelves of books again, still unsure of one that Jackie would find interesting.

_"__Perhaps a horror story? Or, maybe a romance?"_ She thought, looking at the hundreds of titles.

Nico walked over to her. "Annabeth, I'm not sure Jackie would like a book on the horrors of the Black Plague."

Annabeth looked at the book she'd picked up. There was a huge rat on the front cover.

She sighed and put it back. "What would she like?"

"Well… she likes a lot of reading, but not too detailed. And it has to be something that anyone could understand, not like _Little Women_ or something in an older style of English."

Annabeth nodded. "Anything else?"

"Adventures. Fantasy. A little romance, but not a lot. And… yeah that's about it."

Annabeth went back to the bookshelves and chose out an interesting-looking drama novel.

"Thanks, Nico. What did you get her?"

"A Mythomagic game set, including basic starting monsters and models. I've been teaching her how to play."

Annabeth nodded and smiled. "The perfect gift. Hey, did you see where Chiron went?"

"Nope. That's part of the reason I came to find you. Where did we see him last?"

Both thought for a moment. "The front door." Annabeth said finally.

"Should we go find him?" Nico asked.

"We'd better."

Annabeth led the way as they searched for Chiron. It wasn't easy, especially since he was in his wheelchair, which he used when he needed to move around among mortals.

Finally, they found him near to the front door, chatting casually to Argus, who just nodded and pulled the appropriate facial expression when necessary.

"Chiron! Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere!" Cried Nico, following Annabeth over to where the other two were sitting.

Chiron smiled. "I was choosing a gift and then I had spare time, so I got some wrapping paper for each of us, then came here to talk to Argus before you two showed up."

He passed Annabeth a roll of wrapping paper with silvery owls on it and a roll with skulls on a black background to Nico.

"Shall we head home?" He asked, satisfied with their dumbstruck expressions.

Argus held up his hand for a moment. He pulled out a small jewellery box and opened it. Inside was a small bracelet with different charms hanging off the delicate chain. Four charms in total. A dragon, a wolf, an eagle and a lion.

He smiled, keeping his lips closed of course. Chiron smiled back. "Good on you, Argus."

Argus slipped the box back into his backpack, then looked at his watch, tapping the face to indicate that it was time to go.

"Alright, alright, we're coming!" Said Nico as Argus got up and started to walk towards the door. None of the other three were too desperate to return to camp.

Soon enough, they were back in the van, Argus quietly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song on the radio.

Annabeth examined the book she'd gotten for Jackie. "I should get a copy of this for myself. It's actually quite interesting."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Knowing Jackie, she'd quite happily lend it to you for as long as you like."

Chiron chuckled. "Now, Nico, you and I both know that Annabeth will probably finish it before we get home."

Annabeth looked up from the book, which she was already halfway through. "Say, Chiron, you didn't show us what you got for her."

Nico looked fully awake for the first time since hitting the highway. "Yeah, what did you get her?"

Chiron smiled. "All shall be revealed. Later."

Nico groaned. "Come on. We won't tell anyone."

Chiron shook his head. "Her birthday is tomorrow. You can wait until then."

Argus sighed from the front seat. Apparently, he too had wanted to hear what Chiron had gotten Jackie.

The two demigods kept trying to guess what Chiron had gotten, but the old centaur just shook his head and told them to wait until the next day.

After about another half an hour, they arrived back at camp. Nico had to be shaken awake before exiting the van.

Annabeth shoved the book into her bag before jumping out of the van, leaving only Chiron and Argus.

Argus shut the side door and turned towards Chiron.

"What did you get her?" He asked. He rarely spoke, since the rumours about him having an eye in the middle of his tongue were true. His voice was deep, but rich and kind as well.

Chiron pulled a box out of the pocket on the side of his wheelchair. "A phone."

Argus gave Chiron a look of horror. "Do you want her to get killed?!"

When demigods used phones, their presence was transmitted like a beacon that monsters could pick up on. It was rare for a demigod to even _own_ a phone.

"No, I don't. I just need to stay in contact with her during the year."

"Can't she use Iris messages?"

Chiron shook his head. "She'll be staying with Percy's family during the year and will be attending Percy's stepfather's school. I want her to lead a normal mortal life, at least for a bit."

Argus nodded. "Are you going to enchant it, like you did to your own phone?"

"Of course. I want to minimalize the risk of her being found."

"Well, it's up to you." Argus said, admitting defeat in the argument.

Chiron reached up and patted Argus's shoulder. "You can't protect everyone all of the time, Argus. Now, let's go. I hate being stuck in this wheelchair all the time."

Jackie looked out of the window of the Hades cabin while she waited for Nico to finish up using the bathroom.

The moon was full that night and shone very bright. Artemis must have know Jackie was turning fourteen the next day.

"Well, another year gone already." She said to the moon. "I'm surprised I made it this far."

Dusk whimpered. The pup's eyes had opened that morning and the tiny wolf had tottered around the cabin for a little bit on her chubby little legs. Jackie scooped her up and put her on the bed next to her.

"What do you think, little one? Will next year be better?"

Dusk crawled into Jackie's lap and yawned. Jackie stroked the pup gently.

"That's just what I though too, girly. Just what I thought."

"Jackie? Are you still asleep?"

Nico was sitting on the bunk next to Jackie's.

Jackie groaned. "I was until you showed up."

Her brother chuckled. "Happy birthday, little sis."

He handed her a slightly-crumbly chocolate-chip biscuit. Jackie took it gently and broke it in half, then passed a piece back to Nico.

"Where did you find this? You know that junk food is against the rules." She said, taking a bite and savouring the sugary flavour.

Nico grinned. "If you know who to ask and how much to bribe them with, you could get a whole crate of these, or chips, or soda. Whatever you want, they'll deliver."

Jackie stared in awe. "And you tell me this the day we have to head back into the mortal world?!"

Nico laughed. "Well, now you know for next Summer. Come on, they present the camp necklaces today."

Jackie got up immediately. She had wanted a camp necklace ever since she'd come to Camp Half-Blood. She found the leather cord and beads appealing.

Some of the campers, like Nico, had a bead with the Empire State building on it with heaps of names around it. This marked the second titan war, all the names belonging to the people that had died.

Jackie wanted a bead that signified as much bravery as that.

The dining pavilion was full to the brim with campers and curious nature spirits. Jackie and Nico sat down at their table, watching intently as Chiron got up to make a speech.

"Another Summer. Another chance to prove yourself. Alas, it has come to an end. Because of the battle we had recently at Camp Jupiter, we have designed the bead accordingly. Please take a look."

Trays of beads were passed around. People took one of the tiny beads and then started to examine it.

Jackie chose out a bead and a leather cord. The picture was detailed, but a little hard to see.

She sighed. No use hiding it forever.

She pulled a pair of glasses out of her pocket and slipped them on. Some people stared and pointed, but most let it go.

The bead was purple with two tally marks and a silver bow over the top. Jackie smiled.

Nico nudged her shoulder. "It was made for you!"

Jackie smiled and slipped the bead onto the cord, then turned to ask Nico if he could put the necklace on her, but he had gone to the Apollo table to help Will with his.

Jackie sighed, but another set of hands picked up her necklace and hung it around her neck.

"There you go. It looks great." Said an obviously male voice.

Jackie looked up to see one of the Apollo boys smiling down at her. "I like your glasses."

She was awestruck by his good looks, but blushed. "Thanks. Nice bow."

His bow was carved decoratively and had a new bowstring. "Thanks, hey, what's your name? I already know your nickname, Twice, but what's your real name?"

"Jacqueline Hunt, but Jackie's okay too."

He smiled. "I'm Daniel Miles, but you can call me Danny. Do you have a phone?"

"No, why?"

Danny smiled and scribbled something on the back of a Camp Half-Blood business card.

"Call me if you get the chance. Okay?"

Jackie tried to pull the card out of his hand, but he moved towards her with the card. He kissed her, smack on the lips.

"Happy birthday." He said, letting go of the card and walking away.

The whole dining hall burst into cheering. One of the Ares kids stood on the table.

"Get them!"

Nico took the card out of Jackie's hand. "I'll keep it safe!" He yelled. She didn't trust him, but trusted the other campers less.

They picked her up roughly and held her on their shoulders, carrying Danny in the same fashion. Danny reached over and took her hand. "Hold your breath!"

Jackie inhaled sharply when she saw where they were headed.

Thrown into the canoe lake. Nice. Very kind.

Danny took both of her hands in his as they bobbed under the water. He kissed her again, this time for longer.

She thought she would pass out when they reached the surface, but laughed instead.

Percy used his ability to pull them out of the water and dry them off.

Annabeth clapped her hands and laughed. "Remember when they did that to us, Percy? Percy!"

Percy, loving boyfriend that he was dragged Annabeth into the lake. When they surfaced, she kissed him, then slapped him. Hard.

The other campers burst out laughing. Mr D laughed behind his newspaper up at the dining pavilion. Chiron cantered down the hill and clapped along with the others as Annabeth climbed out of the lake.

Percy climbed out after her, drying her off and kissing her.

Danny held Jackie's hand on the way back up to the dining pavilion, clutching it so tight Jackie began to think he thought someone would try to steal her.

Breakfast followed as usual, until Chiron put up his hand for silence. "Today is a very special day. One among us has survived another year and is turning fourteen. Can we all wish Jackie Hunt, Daughter of Hades, a very Happy Birthday.

Jackie slammed her head on the table as the others started singing a very off-tune version of Happy Birthday.

Annabeth walked over and placed a present in front of Jackie. "Happy birthday, Shorty."

Nico chucked another on top of that one. "From me too, Jackie."

Jackie unwrapped them. "Oh, thank you Nico!" She said, hugging him.

"Annabeth? Have you read this already?" She called to the Athena table. Annabeth blushed. Jackie laughed. "Thank you."

The campers started to pack up and get ready to leave.

Jackie stayed behind, examining her gifts. Argus walked over to her and passed her a small box with a white ribbon tied around it.

"Happy Birthday." He said.

Jackie stared at him. "Y-You spoke…."

"Is that an accusation?"

She blushed. "No. You have a nice voice. Thank you, Argus."

She put the bracelet on the second she opened the box. It fit perfectly.

Chiron walked over, looking a little sheepish. "I…um… Happy Birthday?"

He passed her a small package. "Use it wisely."

She opened it and nearly threw it at the wall. "Chiron! Do you want to kill me?!"

"It's been enchanted to minimize the beacon. You'll be completely safe while using it."

Jackie turned the phone over and looked at the case. There was a short quote on the back:

**Keep Calm, or else I'll kill you.**

And a picture of a trench knife.

She laughed. "It's perfect, thank you guys so much. This has been the best birthday I've ever had."

She picked up the different wrapping papers and gifts, then ran off to go pack.

Argus looked at Chiron accusingly. "You never said I have a nice voice."

Chiron patted Argus on the shoulder. "You never asked me to."

The pair watched as the campers started to leave, walking up to Half-Blood Hill and touching Thalia's tree gently.

They could also see Jackie giving Danny and Annabeth her new phone number, then chasing Percy up the hill with her stuff all packed in her bags, which were now strapped on her back.

Dusk chased her up the hill, yapping like a demented chihuahua.

Percy opened the door of the van and climbed in, followed by Jackie and Dusk.

They waved goodbye out the windows until the van turned a corner and drove out of view.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6: The Mortal World.

Paul, Percy's stepdad, nearly squeezed the life out of Percy when he got out the van. Then he hugged Jackie.

"It's nice to see you too, Annabeth."

Percy chuckled. "Paul? That's not Annabeth."

He examined Jackie at arms-length. "You're right. Who are you?"

Jackie gave him a concerned look. "Firstly, Hi, I'm Jackie. Second, if you thought I was Annabeth, you got issues."

Percy's mom, Sally, laughed. "Paul! You should see your face!"

Percy hugged his mom and tickled his baby sister. "I missed you guys too much."

They were standing outside a nice-looking house with a large yard.

Percy looked at it. "Mom? What are we doing here? Why did the van not drop us at home?"

Sally smiled. "This is home, Percy."

Percy stared from one of his parents to the other. "You're kidding! You have got to be kidding!"

Sally shook her head and walked up the path, opening the front door. "What do you think?"

Percy took a step inside the front gate and looked like he was going to cry. "No way. No way."

Jackie smiled. He had told her about the tiny apartment and how his parents wanted to get a better place, but couldn't afford it. Now, they had it.

Paul shoved Jackie forward. "What is wrong with you kids? You can go inside!"

Percy suddenly gave a sniff. "Wait… I can smell something… MOM'S BAKING COOKIES!"

He charged inside, quickly followed by Paul and Jackie. Sally laughed. "One each! Don't spoil your dinner!"

A collection of disappointed groans came from the kitchen.

Sally smiled, passing the baby to Paul and putting the cookies on a cooling tray, where three quickly disappeared from their places.

Dusk whimpered softly. Sally and Paul watched with mixed horror and awe as Jackie's backpack wiggled around on the floor.

"Um… What is that?" Asked Paul.

Jackie scooped up her backpack. Dusk poked her head out and tried to get at the cookie tray.

"Her name's Dusk. I hope you don't mind…" Jackie began, before Paul pulled the pup out of the bag and sat on the floor with her, letting the baby play with Dusk's tail.

"I've never seen a breed like this. Is she a crossbred?" He asked.

Jackie looked to Percy for guidance, unsure whether or not to tell them that Dusk was a wolf.

Percy nodded. "Tell them the truth. They once had Mrs O'Leary in the living room."

Jackie looked at Sally, who nodded. "Not an experience I'm likely to forget."

"Well… Dusk's a purebred…"

Paul nodded. "What breed?"

"Wolf."

Sally gave Jackie a wary look. "Is she safe?"

"Her mom died minutes after birth. Dusk's been with human's since less than half an hour after birth. She's safer than most normal dogs."

Paul smiled and played around with Dusk's ears. "She's great! Of course she can stay!"

Jackie sighed with relief. "Thank the gods. I couldn't very well leave her at camp. Chiron and Argus have enough on their hands and Nico is staying with the Solaces this year."

Paul nodded, not really paying attention. He'd found a piece of wool and was now playing tug-of-war with the pup.

Sally picked up the baby. "Percy, go see your new room. Down the hall, first on the left."

Percy grabbed his stuff and ran off, managing to steal one last cookie before leaving.

Sally pretended not to notice. "Jackie, dear, you'll be staying in the room across from Percy's, first door on the left."

Jackie nodded and followed the directions to her room. It was large with and clean. Very light.

A closet in one corner, a writing desk under the window and a large bed with draws underneath.

She leant her guitar in the corner and then put her suitcase on the bed.

Her basic stuff was in there (towel, toothbrush, clothes, etc.) along with her weapons, which she hid in the closet, and her phone charger, which she plugged in at the power point above the desk.

Sally came to check on her. "What do you think?"

Jackie looked up. "Of the room, or the overall experience?"

Sally laughed. "Let's go with the overall."

"Well, I think you have a very nice family, who have a wonderful cook and am extremely lucky to have such a lovely home and Percy for a son."

"Oh, thank you. Say, why aren't you staying at your parent's house?"

Jackie frowned. "Percy didn't tell you?"

Sally shook her head. "Should I go ask him?"

"Please do. I find the subject awkward."

Sally left. Jackie could hear her talking to Percy across the hall. When she returned, she hugged Jackie. "I'm sorry! I didn't know."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for, Mrs Jackson. It's not your fault."

Sally patted Jackie's shoulder. "Well, I just thought I'd let you know that school starts next week and Percy leaves for college in three weeks."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

Sally left, leaving Jackie alone. She finished unpacking and then went back to the kitchen, where Paul was still playing with Dusk, who was starting to look a little sleepy.

Jackie walked over to them and sat down next to Paul. "Dusky, come here!"

Dusk tottered over to Jackie and crawled into her lap, falling asleep.

"Thanks for tiring her out." She said to Paul, who reached over and scratched the pup's ears.

Paul smiled. "Happy to. Hey, you're going to my school, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you'll need to see the uniform. Percy wasn't there when we enforced a uniform policy, so he wouldn't have told you about it."

Jackie nodded. "Where do I get a uniform?"

"Oh, I can pick you up one. But, you'll have to wear either the girls' skirt or tunic, for obvious reasons."

Jackie nodded again. "Alright. And, I guess I missed the freshman visiting day?"

Paul nodded. "Sadly, you'll have to play new kid, but I'm sure you'll find some friends soon."

"Percy told me that a vampire had attacked him on his freshman visit."

Paul scowled in Percy's general direction. "I'm sure it will be safe. If you see another vampire, come to me immediately. No weapons at school, especially Celestial Bronze."

"Am I allowed to wear my armbands?"

"Sure! I don't see why not."

Jackie slapped the one on left twice. It changed into her buckler. Paul stared. "I can see that... Don't use it unless you have to, alright?"

Percy walked into the room. "Paul, did I just hear you say that you can see her buckler?"

"Yep."

"Well done, mate. Well done."

Paul smiled triumphantly. Jackie closed her buckler, then followed Percy's lead in setting the table for lunch.

Sally had cooked blue pancakes for lunch, a special 'Welcome Home' treat for Percy.

Jackie put Dusk in her room again, then washed her hands ready for lunch. She heard Sally and Paul talking while she did.

"She really is a strange child. Two souls? I've never heard of that before!"

"Sally! She's just a kid! Let it go."

"Paul, she could be dangerous. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Sally, she's a good kid. No one will get hurt."

"I'm not so sure…"

Jackie felt a tear trace a path down her cheek. A strange kid? Is that what Mrs Jackson thought of her?

There came a knock on the bathroom door and Sally poked her head inside, smiling. "Everything okay in here?"

Jackie nodded, wiping the line of mascara off her face. "Yeah, yeah. Nothing's wrong."

Sally looked at Jackie suspiciously. "Are you crying?"

Jackie wiped her eye again. "No."

"Don't lie, Jackie, I can see that you're crying. What's wrong?"

Jackie glared at her shoes. "Couldn't you tell that? I'm a strange kid."

Sally stared in horror. "You heard?"

"I'm half blind, not deaf. Of course I heard." Said Jackie, stepping out of the room and going to her bedroom.

Sally ran after her. "What are you doing?"

Jackie stuffed a few clothes into her bag. "Getting out of this house. I'm not wanted, so I won't get in your way."

Sally caught Jackie's arm. "No, Jackie, please listen. I was worried for the baby. She's young and I don't want her hurt. I didn't mean you were not wanted."

Jackie spun around. "Are you just saying that to make it sound like you're the good guy?!"

Sally shook her head. "Of course not, Jackie, listen. I just don't want my family hurt. Having two powerful Half-Bloods might attract monsters and they aren't going to spare three humans to get at you."

"So you don't care if we die?"

"No! I would hate myself! Jackie, I'm just worried. Percy kept getting attacked at school. I don't want you hurt."

Jackie snorted. "I have a bit more experience at surviving on my own than Percy had. I don't need to be smothered by a human telling me I'm not good enough."

Sally pulled Jackie into a hug. "I never said that you weren't good enough. I'm just scared, that's all."

Jackie cried softly. "Do you think I'm not scared too? I've had to live my whole life without anyone to help me."

Sally nodded. "I know. I know."

Sally gently pulled out of the hug. "Come on. Let's go get some lunch before the boys eat it all."

Jackie nodded and wiped the last of the mascara off her face, then switched her bronze eyepatch for her plain one, following Sally into the kitchen.

Percy didn't even glance up from his pancakes, but Paul did.

"I hope you didn't want any, Jackie, because you're not getting any."

Percy snorted and choked on a piece of pancake, grabbing his glass of water and swilling the whole thing before bursting into a fit of laughter.

Jackie blushed and sat down next to Sally, who pushed a plate of pancakes in front of her.

"Eat up. Don't listen to the boys."

Jackie followed Sally's orders to the letter, quickly eating her lunch before Percy or Paul could recover from laughing.

Percy and Jackie took the dishes to the sink and then ran back to their rooms to finish setting them up just the way they liked.

After they'd finished, Percy poked his head into Jackie's room. "Hey, you want to go explore? Mom said that there was a cool sports store down the road."

Jackie nodded. "How do we get there?"

"You can borrow my old skateboard if you like. Let's go."

Jackie had thankfully learned how to ride a skateboard a few years earlier, so needed no help to follow Percy as he raced down the street.

"Hey, you're not that bad!" He called back to her after seeing her do a one-eighty-degree spin.

"I promise you, it's not all intentional." She said, carefully avoiding a deep crack in the sidewalk.

Percy laughed. "Come on, it's just up ahead!"

The shop had a lot of stuff in it, including rollerblades (which Jackie liked) and surfboards (which Percy liked).

They continued to explore the neighbourhood for a bit, until Percy's mom texted Jackie that it was time to head home.

A few downhill races and skinned limbs later and they were charging through the front gate and racing inside.

Sally smiled as she stirred the pot on the stove. "Did you enjoy yourselves?"

Percy grinned, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, we did."

Jackie smiled as Percy tried the stew and pretended to be poisoned. Sally threatened to hit him with a spoon, inspiring the two to retreat to the living room.

Paul was working on something at the dining table and stroking Dusk, who had escaped form Jackie's room. Really, he was paying more attention to the dog than the paperwork.

Percy dived onto the couch. Jackie vaulted over the back of said furniture and landed next to him.

Percy grinned. "What did you think of your first day?"

"It was great!" Jackie said, happily. "You're really lucky to have such a nice family, Percy."

"They have their quirks at times, but it's okay most of the time. By the way, get ready to go out again early tomorrow morning."

Jackie pulled a confused expression. "Why?"

"You do not want to be around when Paul and Mom wake up. It's a disaster."

Jackie laughed. "Really?"

Percy smiled. "Let's just say it's not pretty and leave it at that."

Dinner was a beef stew with steamed vegetables and some sort of blue soda which Percy really liked. Jackie gave it a sceptical sniff but found it pleasant enough when she tried it.

After dinner there was a mad rush for the shower. Sally one, leaving Paul, Percy and Jackie to play an improvised version of football in the backyard.

Percy ended up with a bloody nose and Jackie had a black eye, but Paul caught none of it.

"Well, it just proves that demigods are clumsy." He said, provoking Percy to wrestle him to the ground.

"Clumsy, are we? Well, at least we know how to hold our tongues!"

Paul said something rude, but it was muffled by the grass. Jackie laughed as Percy pulled his now filthy stepfather out of the lawn before Sally saw what had happened.

Later that night, Jackie took off her eyepatch, which was horrible to sleep in, and climbed into bed. Dusk curled up on an old pillow on the floor, since she wasn't allowed on the bed.

Sally poked her head around the door and smiled. "Going to bed early?"

"Yeah." Said Jackie, sleepily. "I'm tired."

Sally sat down on the edge of the bed next to Jackie. "Percy and Paul went to bed early too, so you must've done something horrible to them."

Jackie smiled. "We played football outside while you were in the shower. That's all."

Sally gave Jackie another suspicious look, but let it pass. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah, it's fun. I wish I had a family like this." Jackie said.

Sally rubbed her hand down Jackie's face. "You're part of our family now."

Jackie's eyes hung half-closed. "Really?"

"Of course you are. Now, goodnight, go to sleep."

Jackie half-nodded and fell asleep.

Sally got up to leave but stopped when she heard something that sounded remarkably like. "Goodnight Mom."

She smiled and left. Maybe there really was room in the family for one more person.

The next week flew by pretty much the same as the first day. Percy would wake Jackie up by knocking loudly on her door at six in the morning, giving them fifteen minutes to get dressed and leave before Paul and Sally woke up.

They spent the days skateboarding and practicing sword manoeuvres with wooden swords that Percy made in the backyard.

Dusk grew quickly, living off table food that everyone gave her and her twice-daily meal of dog biscuits.

Soon enough, it was Jackie's first day of eighth grade.

"Do I have to go?" She asked Sally as they sat down to breakfast on her first day.

Sally nodded sadly. "It's nice to have you around, but you have to get a good education if you want to go to college in New Rome in a few years, like Percy."

She made an indication towards Percy, who was scoffing his cereal faster than Dusk ate her dog biscuits each morning.

"What?" He asked, his mouth full.

Paul put on a mock-angry face. "Percy! What have I told you about speaking with your mouth full?"

"Nothin'." Answered Percy, quickly dodging a well-aimed tea towel from his mother.

Sally grumbled and took her dish to the sink. Jackie laughed and picked up the small grey satchel that Sally had gifted to her to use as a schoolbag. She put her old wallet and her phone into a back pocket, then put her textbooks inside.

Paul had brought her a school uniform a couple days before. A navy-blue tunic with a grey V-neck jumper over the top, short white socks and a pair of black leather school shoes.

She tied her hair back, careful to pull out the last of the knots.

"I feel like the dog's dinner dressed up like this." She said as she entered the dining room after changing into her uniform.

Percy snorted. "You definitely look it!"

Sally slapped Percy' shoulder. "You look fine. And remember, everyone else will be dressed like that, so don't be worried about standing out."

"I'll stand out fine with my eyepatch. How will I explain it?"

Paul thought for a moment. "Dog attack. That's the best thing I can come up with."

Sally nodded. "It's agreed then. If anyone asks about Jackie's eye, we tell them that she attacked by a dog and leave it at that."

Percy swallowed his mouthful. "What if someone asks more details? Like how old she was?"

"Say she was ten and that the dog owner lost grip on the dog's leash. The perfect lie."

Jackie nodded. "I've got to get to the bus stop. I'll see you there, Paul."

Sally walked over to Jackie and kissed her on the cheek. "If anyone bullies you, just text me, alright?"

Jackie nodded, her anxiety spiking up again. "Bye, Percy."

"Woah, it isn't bye just yet. I'm walking you to the bus stop." He said, standing up and pulling on his jacket.

Paul patted her on the shoulder. "Good luck. I'll see you later."

Jackie nodded and let Percy drag her out the door. Dusk squealed and tried to follow them out of the front gate, but Jackie stopped her with a quick hug and a kiss.

"Give me strength, Dusky." She said quietly, putting the pup back on the ground.

Percy shut the gate behind them, then led her down the street. "You'll be fine. I don't think you'll be attacked, but you have your buckler just in case."

"I also have my boot knife."

Percy looked at her, his eyebrow raised. "You're not wearing your boots."

"It's in my bag, stupid. I'm not going anywhere without being armed."

Percy nodded as they approached a group of kids wearing the same, or similar, uniforms to Jackie.

"Here's your stop. Don't be too shy and… where'd you go?"

Jackie had hidden behind him. "I don't want to go."

"I don't care kiddo, you're going. Hiding behind someone isn't a move I'd use for good first impressions."

Jackie hit him and scowled. "Idiot!"

"That's better. Go on, go become one with the other short people over there. I'll see you this afternoon."

Jackie walked on ahead on her own. Percy waved from a good distance away, but waited until the bus got there before he started walking home.

"Oh, jeez, I hope she'll be okay." He said to himself as he turned the corner, out of sight at last.

Jackie managed to find a seat to herself, until another girl appeared. "Can I sit here?"

Jackie nodded, not feeling like talking. The girl sat down, crushing Jackie against the window as her another girl sat down on the seat next to the first.

Jackie felt the first girl nudge her. "Can you move over a little? My friend can't sit down!"

Jackie shuffled over into the last couple of centimetres she had left.

The girl nudged her again. "I didn't see you at the freshman visit. Are you new to the area?"

Jackie nodded.

The second girl leaned forward and tugged at one of the straps on Jackie's eyepatch.

"What's this for?" She asked.

Jackie hunched her shoulders, but turned towards them nervously. Both girls squealed, then cracked up laughing.

"Are you a pirate or something?" Asked the first girl, clapping her hands.

Jackie shook her head. "I was attacked by a dog when I was ten."

The second girl leaned forward. "Is that how you got the scar?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you cover it with make up? It looks really ugly."

The words stung Jackie harshly. "I didn't have time."

"If I had a scar like that I would hide in my room all day."

Jackie huddled in the corner of the seat. The two girls seemed to forget about her, for now at least. She hoped they wouldn't be in any of her classes.

The school was nice, but very big. Jackie knew she would've gotten lost if there hadn't have been a map at the front gate, which she took a photo of.

She went straight to her Homegroup class, where she had to wait to be assigned a seat by the teacher.

The teacher, a woman in her early twenties if not younger, addressed the class confidently.

"Good morning, class. You may remember me as Mrs Lyre from your freshman visit? Good. We have a new student here that unfortunately did not attend the freshman visit. A warm welcome, please, for Jackie Hunt!"

Jackie tried to hang her head, but Mrs Lyre pulled on her ponytail to get her to look up.

The other kids gasped and shrieked as they saw Jackie's scar, a couple retched. Jackie whimpered and walked to the back of the class before the laughing started.

Mrs Lyre smacked a ruler on the desk to silence the class before proceeding to start the lesson. Jackie managed to endure the rest of the class without returning any of the other kids' glances or stares.

This continued for the rest of the morning, until First Break came. Then she was jostled around in a pack of rowdy kids as they raced to their lockers for snacks and money to spend at the canteen.

Jackie was suddenly shoved especially hard and fell over, landing square on her hands.

"Oops." Chuckled one of the girls from on the bus, whom the teachers had addressed as Dahlia.

"Sorry about that." Said her friend, Charlie-Rose.

They stood there, still cackling, as Jackie scrambled to pick up her stuff.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Yelled a voice from nearby.

The two girls looked up. "It's Daniel! Quick, run!"

Jackie had heard a few people talking about a kid named Daniel. Apparently he was super popular at school and really nice.

She ducked her head. "I just tripped, I…"

She looked up. Standing right in front of her was Danny, offering her a hand up.

"Jackie!" He cried. "I didn't know you were coming to this school!"

"Danny!" She cried, leaping up and hugging him.

He kissed her. "I missed you. Why didn't you tell me you were coming here?"

"I didn't know that you'd be here"

Danny helped her pick up the last of her books. "Come meet some of my friends. They're a lot nicer than those brats that tripped you over."

He walked her to her locker, then ed her to meet his friends, who walked over.

"Hey, guys! I want you to meet Jackie, my girlfriend from Summer Camp. Jackie, this is Richie and Sam, the guys."

Jackie nodded to them. "Nice to meet you."

Richie took her hand in his, kissing her fingers gently. "Always a pleasure to meet a young maiden such as yourself."

Sam burst out laughing. "Schmuck!"

Richie growled. "Why you…!"

He then proceeded to chase the offender around the yard.

Danny smirked. "Should we go meet some of the others?"

"Yeah. I think we'd better."

He laughed. "Oh, your cute, you are. I'm glad I caught you at camp."

Jackie rolled her eye. "We got thrown into the canoe lake, if you don't remember."

"Was it worth it?"

"Let me think about that…"

Danny gave her a hurt look. Jackie laughed. "Of course it was worth it."

Danny kissed her again. "I knew you'd say that."

They walked over to another group of people. "Hey, people, meet my girlfriend, Jackie. Jackie, this is Fred, Diana, Sara and Harley."

They all greeted each other before Danny continued. "Harley and Diana are dating and so are Fred and Sara."

Jackie smiled uncertainly. "Okay."

Danny bent down next to Jackie and whispered in her ear. "Harley, Fred and Diana are from Camp Jupiter and Sara is one of Dionysus's kids. We can talk freely in front of them."

Jackie nodded. A weight seemed to rise off her chest, letting her breathe a little more freely.

Sara smiled. "That was a really brave thing that you did at camp, Jackie. I would have never had the courage to do that."

Jackie nodded. "Thanks, but I didn't have the courage either."

The whole group laughed, breaking the last of the ice that stood between them.

The rest off the day seemed to go by in a blur of lesson and her new friends. Thankfully, they weren't given homework on the first day.

Soon enough, the end of day bell rang. Jackie pulled her phone out of her bag, ready for the bus ride form hell on the way home.

She managed to squeeze herself into a seat a few seats in front of a couple mean-looking boys.

But Dahlia and Charlie still managed to sit next to her.

"Hey, we're sorry about earlier." Charlie said, sitting right next to Jackie, so close that she could almost read the texts on Jackie's screen. Almost.

"Yeah." Added Dahlia. "Will you forgive us?"

"No." Answered Jackie bluntly.

"Oh, come on. We said sorry, what else do you want?"

"I want you to stay away from me."

Dahlia rolled her eyes. "Oh, we didn't do that much wrong. It was just a little trip."

Jackie stared at the pair of bullies. "You just want to get chummy because I'm Danny's girlfriend. Isn't that right?"

Charlie sneered. "Of course not. We aren't interested in him. Not yet anyway."

Dahlia copied Charlie's sneer. "We're up for you first."

Jackie watched in horror as the two bullies turned into hideous scaled creatures, _dracaenae._

The one that used to be Charlie had a golden circlet on her forehead. Dahlia didn't have any jewellery at all.

"Die demigod!" Hissed the two uglies, diving at Jackie's throat.

What they didn't account for was Jackie's knife sticking into them.

The only thing left after she had finished with them was the gold circlet. The mortals hadn't even realised what had happened.

Jackie knew she couldn't leave the circlet on the bus, as it would cause a fuss, so she shoved it into her bag along with her knife.

Exiting on her stop, she ran over to Percy and shoved herself into his arms.

"What happened to you?" He demanded.

"_Dracaenae. _Two of them attacked me on the bus."

Percy stared down at her. "You're kidding!"

Jackie pulled the circlet out of her bag. "Nope."

Percy took the circlet in his hands. "Obviously one of them was nobility. You've got to be careful from now on, ok?"

Jackie nodded. "Should I tell Paul about this?"

Percy shook his head. "You'd get in trouble for having a knife. I'll tell Chiron over an Iris message later, but for now, keep that circlet hidden."

"Alright."

They rounded the corner and then walked up the path to their house. "Mom! She survived her first day!"

Sally came running down the hall, tackling Jackie in a huge hug. "Oh, I was so worried about you, ever since you left… I'm being silly, aren't I? You can take care of yourself."

Jackie nodded, unsure of what to say.

Percy slapped her on the back. "Yeah, of course she can. Mom, I've got some work to do, so can you make your meatloaf for dinner? I need the protein."

Sally smiled. "Percy…"

"Please?"

"Alright. But you promise me that you'll help with a little something."

"What is it?"

Sally went to the kitchen drawer and pulled out a notepad, scribbling a few words on it.

"Run to the grocery store and pick up a few things, will you?"

Percy pulled a face. "I'm Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon and protector of Olympus, about to embark upon another epic quest… to buy my mom potatoes and tinned peaches."

"And dog food, bread and cereal. Plus whatever else you manage to get the money to stretch to."

Percy rolled his eyes and took the cash in his hand. "When do I have to be back?"

"Six if you want dinner. Seven if you want me to file a missing person's report. Eight if you want me to contact Chiron and scream at him to send the Olympian guards."

Percy chuckled. "I'll make it six, because I want dinner."

Jackie, who had rushed off to get changed, came back, still pulling on her jacket.

"Can I go too?"

Percy grinned. "Of course. I wouldn't dream of ever going anywhere without my faithful sidekick."

Jackie pulled a face and passed him his skateboard. "For you, your highness."

Percy ruffled her hair. "Come on. We'll have time to visit the internet café if we grab all this stuff quickly."

Jackie dropped her skateboard onto the footpath, jumping onto it while it was still moving. "Let's go, Seaweed Brain."

"You've been talking to Annabeth, haven't you?"

"That's right."

Percy snorted and caught up with her. "You have that circlet?"

"'Course."

"Pull into the alley up ahead. I have a spray bottle to make the call."

Jackie pulled into the alley like Percy had asked her to. He pulled out a flashlight and a spray bottle, which he used to make a rainbow. He threw a golden drachma into the mist.

"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, put me through to Chiron at Camp Half-Blood please." He said quietly.

Suddenly, an image appeared in the mist. Chiron's face appeared in the picture. "Percy! This may or may not be a pleasant surprise. What's up?"

Jackie crawled over and put her face next to Percy's. "It's not a pleasant surprise, I can tell you that. I was attacked this afternoon by two _dracaenae_ on the school bus. One of them was wearing this circlet (Jackie held the circlet up for Chiron to see). Do you have any idea what it might mean? Or why they attacked me in front of so many mortals?"

Chiron thought for a moment. "Do you have any connection to Half-Bloods at school?"

"I text Annabeth in my maths and English classes. Three Romans and Danny go to my school as well."

Chiron nodded. "I suggest wearing the circlet. It may help clear your vision so you can see through the Mist that the monsters hide themselves in. If you are attacked again, tell me immediately, then get to camp as fast as possible."

Jackie nodded. "Anything else?"

"I will send a female satyr 'Keeper' to help protect you. Her name in Gena Sage, do not be afraid of her."

Percy signalled that it was time to go. Jackie nodded. "Chiron, we've got to go. We'll see you later. Bye."

Chiron nodded. "Good luck."

Percy waved his hand through the mist. "Good thing we ended when we did. I almost ran out of water."

They shoved the messaging equipment into Percy's backpack again, then raced down to the store while they still had time.

Jackie crossed the last thing off the list. "Wow, your mom sure wants a lot of stuff."

Percy nudged her. "Our mom."

"Huh?"

"It's not smiled upon for a girl your age to be staying at my place as a friend. And, anyway, I think we can spread the family to one more person."

Jackie smiled. "Thanks, Percy."

They paid for everything, then raced down the street to the skatepark, deciding that the Internet café was asking for trouble.

Percy showed Jackie how to use the ramps. "Now you try!"

Jackie climbed up the ladder on the side of the ramp. "You sure about this?"

"Positive."

Jackie rolled her eye. "That just fills me with hope."

She placed her foot on the front of her board. Breathing deeply, she took the plunge.

It was alright, just the jump on the other side that freaked her out the most. She quickly turned it so that she was heading down the ramp again, just like Percy had shown her.

Because she only had a slow run up, she didn't have to do another jump, so just rode over to Percy, who was standing at the side, clapping.

"Well done! You'll be riding the bowl in no time." He called as she approached.

"Let's just stay with racing around like a pair of maniacs for now."

Percy laughed. "If you say so."

Jackie checked the time. "Um… it's five forty. That leaves us only twenty minutes to get home!"

Percy looked at his own watch. "Holy Zeus! Come on kid."

They grabbed the bags and raced down the street. Jackie kept tabs on the time, yelling them forward to Percy at five minute intervals.

Soon, they were on the end of their street. Percy picked up the pace, racing ahead.

Jackie, who was nervous about his high speed, lowered herself down a little way and caught up.

"Slow down!" She shouted. "You'll get yourself killed."

Percy slowed down a little. Jackie followed suit, now riding beside him.

Suddenly, a car came out of nowhere, speeding down the street, headed straight for the two demigods.

Jackie made a split-second decision and tackled Percy to the side. They landed on the pavement, skinning both hand and knee, but survived to catch a look at the licence plate and memorise it.

Percy ruffled Jackie's hair. "Man, that was quick thinking."

Jackie nodded, whiter than a sheet. "It helps."

"You saved my life."

"It took twenty years off of mine."

Percy laughed and pulled her to her feet. "Come on. Let's go explain to Mom what happened."

They picked up the shopping, which had surprisingly escaped unharmed, then turned to the skateboards.

Percy's was intact, which as lucky since it was expensive. Jackie's on the other hand…

"Oh jeez, Percy, that maniac must have run straight over it! It's shattered. I'm sorry, man, I'll buy you a new one."

Percy shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I have another one. Its truck bolts were shot anyway."

Jackie scooped up the pieces and put them in the trash can, except the trucks.

"You can use them as spare parts." She said bluntly.

Sally called the police immediately after Percy told her what had happened. Paul was impressed at Jackie's quick thinking, but wasn't impressed when he discovered that the driver hadn't shown any sign of stopping to check if they were okay.

"Yeah, so that's what happened." Percy said, finishing the story.

Paul patted Jackie on the back. "Well done, kiddo. Sally would agree, you're part of the family now."

Jackie nodded, taking another sip of water to try and calm her nerves.

Sally entered the kitchen, her expression grim. "The police know the licence plate. Apparently the licence of the driver is suspended and their investigating it now."

Sally sat down next to Jackie and put her arm around her shoulders. "You saved Percy's life. Don't you dare shake your head, I know you did! I would have been a mess if Percy had been killed. I thank you so much. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's another phone call I need to make."

She got up and walked off.

Jackie and Percy set the table and Paul served the meatloaf. Sally walked over and pulled Paul aside for a moment, talking in a low whisper.

Percy and Jackie paid no attention, already tucking into their dinner. They were nearly finished when Sally and Paul came back to the table.

"Alright kids, change of plan!" Said Paul, clapping his hands. "Your mother and I have to talk, so go play on the PlayStation or something for a bit, alright?"

Percy looked over at Jackie, who looked back at him. They grinned.

"Overwatch!" Percy said.

"Sea of Thieves!" Jackie argued.

"Halo, Minecraft and whatever else you can find, just go!" Yelled Paul, but he did not say it angrily.

They stacked their plates on the sink and soon the distinctive sounds of Sea of Thieves on both the computer and the PlayStation could be heard coming from the rumpus room.

After some time, Percy stopped playing. "Did you hear that?"

Jackie silenced her computer. "No. What's up?"

"I thought I heard the doorbell."

"Want to investigate?"

"Always."

They started to sneak towards the door, but Paul appeared. "Nope. Sally's going through some business, so you two aren't allowed out there."

Both groaned, until Paul held a tin above his head. "I found the cookies!"

Both leapt at the tin, but Paul shook his head. "Show me where you're up to first."

Jackie pointed towards the screen. "See that player? That's Annabeth."

Percy pointed towards the fourth player. "That's Piper."

Paul nodded. "I'm guessing you're using a Galleon?"

A Galleon was the largest ship in the game.

Jackie nodded. "No, two Sloops (the smallest ship in the game). I'll call Annabeth, she and Piper are having a sleepover."

Soon enough, Annabeth's face appeared on Jackie's phone. "Hey! Long time, no see. How're you going?"

Percy waved at Annabeth, but Jackie shook her head. "Focus on the game. We're nearing kraken waters."

Jackie manned the cannons on her ship, since she was the best shot. "Annabeth, move your ship out of the way. It would be a miracle if I could shoot the kraken from here."

Annabeth's character started turning her and Piper's ship. Jackie grinned sadistically. The cannon fired and hit the tentacle right in the face.

Percy shot his pistol, hitting a second tentacle.

The air was soon filled with the enraged shrieks of the kraken and the sound of canons and guns firing.

Suddenly, one of the tentacles died. The treasure was theirs!

Annabeth grinned. "Piper, how much wood are we going on?"

"Still got heaps." Said a voice off to the side of the camera. "We could take down another few tentacles if we wanted."

Annabeth thought for a moment. "Target one tentacle at a time, this time. It will be faster to take them down."

"We'd better listen to Wise Girl." Said Percy.

Soon, the canons were firing again. Another tentacle died, but, before they could move to the next one, Annabeth yelped.

"Three ships on the horizon, heading this way!"

Jackie made her character climb into the crow's nest and pull out a telescope. "One Galleon… Two Sloops… (horrified gasp) All flying the Reaper's Mark!"

The Reapers Mark was the flag used by the most experienced players to show their dominance over the rest of the server. It was the only flag that showed the position of the ship flying it on the chart in another ship's cabin.

Annabeth looked scared. "If they're the real deal, they could be dangerous. Their treasure and supplies will probably be on the Galleon, because it's got the most players and firepower. The Sloops will probably be acting as guards and looters. They'll be what we need to watch out for."

Jackie nodded. "Let's get away from the kraken. They'll leave us alone then."

Annabeth's character raised the anchor on her ship. Percy's did the same on his and Jackie's.

The tiny boats began to pull away from the kraken, dodging tentacles that tried to grab them.

But the Reaper's Mark fleet kept coming.

"They're after us." Piper said, making her character use it's telescope to take a closer look at the fleet.

"They have full crews on all of their ships." Percy stated. "These guys are prepared."

Piper stayed in the crow's nest. "Do you want to Friend or Foe them?"

"Whatever." Said everyone else.

"They answered with Foe."

Annabeth cursed. "Let's get out of…"

Canons exploded on the ships behind them. Their ships sunk.

It was over.

Percy laughed. "Well, that was fun."

Annabeth chuckled. "Yeah. We'll talk later. It's not safe to use technology for this long anyway."

The four said brisk farewells and shut down not only the call, but the rest of their technology as well.

Percy turned to Paul. "Now, about those cookies…"

Jackie and Percy tackled Paul, pinning him to the ground and stealing the tin off him.

Percy ripped the lid off. "Hey! There are no cookies!"

Paul laughed, holding the last two in his hand. Jackie took them and passed one to Percy.

Sally walked in to find Paul lying on the floor laughing and Percy perched on the table eating a blue chocolate chip cookie.

"Must I ask what's going on?" She asked as Paul sat up.

Jackie, who was sitting on the couch like a normal person, smiled sweetly. "Nope."

Sally pulled a face that clearly meant she didn't want to know what was going on.

Paul pulled himself to his feet. "What's up, Sally? Is something wrong?"

Sally smiled warmly. "It's all official. It went perfectly."

Percy looked between the two of parents suspiciously. "You'd better tell me what's going on, or I swear I'll call Mrs O'Leary. And you would not like where she landed."

Sally smiled. "Paul and I have decided to adopt Jackie into our family, officially."

Paul pulled a cheeky smile. "Mostly because we think she's a nice kid, but some of it is because you need someone to look after you, Percy, going on this afternoon's events."

Percy fell off the table in shock. Jackie shrieked and clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Do you mean it?" She asked. "Do you actually mean it?"

"Of course we do." Answered both Sally and Paul together.

The whole family burst into a fit of happy tears, jumping around in a group hug, Jackie squished into the middle of the group.

A family. At last, a proper family.


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7: The Race to CHB

Percy had to leave only a few weeks after coming home to go to college in New Rome.

"I'll be back at Winter Break." He said, packing the last bits and pieces into his bag. "I'll see you then."

Jackie was upset when Percy left at 3am. She had school, so wasn't allowed to say a proper goodbye.

She woke up later in the morning to find that Percy really had gone. She looked around her room and saw something sitting on the writing desk.

A package wrapped in brown paper with a small card attached to the top.

She pulled the card off and read it to herself.

Dear Jackie,

Sorry I had to leave so suddenly. I wish I could have said a proper goodbye. But we can still communicate over Iris messages. I won't be in any danger, so don't worry about me. I promise I'll come home at Winter Break, so don't worry about that.

I thought I'd get you something to keep you busy until then, it's in the package.

Keep safe, don't' go looking for trouble.

Percy.

Jackie placed the card on her desk and turned to the package. The paper was thick and didn't give way easily, but she eventually got her fingers through. Her face melted into a smile when she saw what was inside.

The rollerblades from the store that she'd liked. She made a mental note to get the surfboard that Percy had liked for his birthday.

She strapped them on and adjusted them, but didn't try to stand up yet. It would be too much of a risk to stand up without pads, which were also included in the package.

She made a silent promise to practice every day until Percy came home, that way she had something to show him.

Time dragged on. The Fall Break came and went and so did Jackie's report card. Sally hadn't expected Jackie to do well, being a demigod and all, but she hadn't expected it to be that bad.

From that day forward, Jackie got Annabeth to help her with homework. She was not redoing eighth grade if she could help it.

Winter term was nasty. The snow stopped them from going to school on some days and it was so cold that they nearly froze out in the yard.

Then the heating system broke.

Kids would huddle together during classes, pretending to work but actually trading things like keyrings and cheap jewellery while the teachers warmed their hands over their coffee and wondered why they were there.

Finally, it was the last day of term two. Mrs Lyre continued to babble on about random stuff, then handed out the holiday homework that no-one would do and told them to be safe over break and not do anything stupid.

Jackie smiled on the inside at this. Doing stupid things was her specialty.

Classes ran as usual. The trading tables were open in Math and English. Jackie managed to score twenty bucks for an old cd she'd found in her guitar case. She wasn't about to tell the buyer, who'd traded it already for a phone case, that it was badly scratched and didn't work properly.

After school, Jackie decided to catch the late bus home and run up the street to buy Christmas presents, Christmas being only a week away.

For Sally she bought a recipe book full of 5-minute dinners. For Paul, a mug with #1 Stepdad written on the side (She couldn't really say he was her real dad. Hades would have something to say about that).

The last thing she needed to buy was something for Percy.

She looked around the different shops, looking desperately for something to give him.

Suddenly, a boy barged into her. She immediately checked to make sure her wallet, phone and keys were still in her pockets, just in case he was a snatch thief.

Her phone and keys were there, but her wallet was gone. She started to chase after him, but he was much faster than she was.

_"__I need that wallet back!" _She thought to herself. _"It has my Student ID and my Bus Pass in it."_

She continued to chase him, deciding quickly how to go about this.

She Shadow Travelled to end up ahead of the boy. He ran straight into her.

"Give. My. Wallet. Back!" She said, grabbing him forcefully by the collar. He scrabbled in his pocket and pulled out her wallet.

She kept a hold on his collar while she checked the contents. "Where's the cash?"

He whimpered and passed it to her. "Please don't hand me to the cops! I have to steal to get fed!"

Jackie looked at him carefully. "Come with me…"

He follow obediently. She walked into an alleyway. "What's your name?"

"Harry. Harry Lancer."

"Where are your parents, Harry?"

He thought for a moment. "My dad's dead and I never knew my mom."

Jackie pulled up her sleeve to reveal her armband. "Can you see this?"

"Yeah. A gold armband with a strange engraving. Why?"

She tapped the engraving and the buckler appeared. Harry stared at it, wide-eyed.

"Harry. I need you to play along with me for a moment. Have you ever heard of the Greek gods?"

Harry nodded. "Zeus and that lot of freaks, right?"

Jackie winced. Thunder rolled across the sky.

"Harry, I wouldn't call them freaks. They're real. I have a suspicion that you're one of their children. You have to stay by me for now, understand? It's not safe out there for a Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood? What does that even mean?"

"It means someone who's got one mortal parent and one that's a god, so their half immortal."

Harry nodded. "So, one of the Greek gods is my mom?"

"That could be the case, yes."

"Cool."

Jackie frowned and pulled out her phone. "Quick word of warning for future reference. Don't use technology unless it's an emergency. It tells monsters where you are."

"Monsters?"

"Yep. Just play along. Don't think about it too much, just embrace it."

Jackie tapped on Chiron's name and let the phone ring a few times before he picked up.

"Jackie! What's wrong?"

"Nothing so far, Chiron. I have a kid here who can see Imperial gold and didn't know his dad. His aura's a little strange too. I'm going to try and get him to camp in a few days, alright?"

She heard Chiron stamp his foot. "Jackie, this is too dangerous. What if a monster catches you?"

"I'll kill it. There's no time to send for Argus or get Gena to help me. I'm just giving you a heads-up."

Chiron sighed. "Don't get killed."

Jackie smiled. "Thanks, Chiron. I'll try to get Percy to help. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Jackie, if this all goes pear-shaped…"

"I promise to send you a postcard from Erebos. Bye Chiron."

She hung up before the centaur could argue again.

She took Harry by the hand. "I may have just found you a new home, Harry. Come with me."

Harry didn't mind sleeping in the shed for the night.

Jackie had taken him to buy a new coat to keep him warm, then had found the perfect gift for Percy, a necklace with a whale bone charm and small shark teeth all the way round the chain.

Harry had caught the late bus home with her, then had snuck around the side of the house and into the shed.

Jackie brought him some leftovers from dinner and a bottle of water.

"Eat up." She said. "It may be the last hot meal you get before we leave tomorrow.

Percy arrived home that night. There were tears and kisses from Sally, a slap on the back from Paul and a hug from Jackie.

She couldn't bring herself to tell him about Harry.

That night there was no moon. Lots of monsters would be prowling around.

The perfect night to get Harry to Camp Half-Blood.

Jackie pulled on her short jacket and boots, having gone to bed still fully dressed. She slipped her phone into a pouch attached to her arm, grabbed all of her weapons and headed outside.

"Harry!" She whispered near the shed door.

Harry poked his head out. "Are we going?"

"Of course we are. Take this." She said, pushing her boot knife into his hand. "We need to go as far as we can on foot before I Shadow Travel to camp. I'm not good with long-distance travel yet."

Harry nodded and followed her as she led the way onto the street.

The first snow of Winter hadn't yet fallen, but it was still really cold.

Jackie's quiver bounced against her spine painfully as she ran, provoking her to stop and tighten the strap before continuing.

Her bow was already drawn, but there was no arrow nocked. Hopefully she wouldn't have to nock one at all.

Harry remained silent through the whole run down the street, but once they reached a corner, he stopped suddenly.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Jackie turned around. "You just have to. Do you want to die, alone in the gutter, not knowing who you were?"

"No."

"Then trust me. I can find you a home."

She deployed her buckler and took Harry's hand, pulling him forward again at a jog. Her phone buzzed. Annabeth was texting her.

She called Annabeth, still running. After only three rings, Annabeth picked up.

"Jackie, why are you calling me now? You nearly gave me away! My ringtone is super loud and…"

"Annabeth, shut up and listen. I have an unclaimed demigod here and am trying to get to Camp Half-Blood. You're not helping by texting me, so just talk."

"You're traveling at _night?!"_

"Yep. Just keep talking, Annie, another demigod voice is music to my ears at the moment. Nothing can help my nerves more than another person that knows about our lot."

Jackie put Annabeth on speaker and put her phone back in her arm pouch so she could still carry her bow.

Annabeth grabbed a book on Greek mythology and proceeded to read it aloud to Jackie, throwing in her own pieces of information from time to time.

Jackie suddenly stopped. "Annabeth, quiet for a sec."

Annabeth fell silent. "What's wrong?"

"A werewolf. Just ahead of us. I think there's a pack of about three."

"You'll need silver to kill them. Do you have any silver?"

"I have my arrows." Answered Jackie. "Harry, get behind me. Hurry!"

Harry pressed himself against her leg. "I will always believe everything you ever say again if we get out of here alive."

Jackie nocked an arrow as the first wolf came out of the shadows and approached them, saliva running off its fangs.

It leapt straight at them, leaving Jackie next to no time to react. But she did.

The wolf fell on the ground, slowly turning to dust.

"Harry? Have you ever skinned something before?" Jackie asked, preparing her next arrow.

"Yeah." Came the frightened reply.

"Skin that thing with the knife I gave you. I'm not coming out of this without something to show for it."

Harry dodged to the side and the sound of blade on flesh could soon be heard coming from the corpse.

The second wolf charged out of the shadows. This one was smaller than the first and dodged the first arrow.

It slashed at pounced at Jackie. She shot it dead, but its claws dug into the flesh on her abdomen as it came down.

"Argh, it burns…" She growled, hunching over a little as she drew another arrow.

The third was the smallest by far. It growled and followed it's friends' fate. Shot and dissolved.

Harry ran over to Jackie, carrying the soft hide in his arms.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" He pounded her with questions and offers to help.

She shook her head, not wanting to talk about it. "We need to keep moving."

Their progress was greatly slowed because of Jackie's injury, but sped up a little as she got used to the pain.

"Annabeth? You still there?" Jackie asked after a bit.

A male voice could be heard in the background, arguing with Annabeth. "Jackie? Are you alright?"

"I got hit. The pain is excruciating, but it's not bleeding too much, so I won't use the ambrosia. I'm on very limited supplies."

The male voice became clearer. "Annabeth! Get off that phone! It's nearly midnight!"

Annabeth groaned. "Dad! It's a camp matter. I have to help in any way I can."

Mr Chase's voice became interested. "A demigod? You're talking to a demigod?"

"Yes and she's trying to get an unclaimed kid to camp. She just fought a trio of werewolves and got hurt. I have to stay on the line."

Jackie groaned and dropped to her knees, clutching the wound on her stomach. "Ow…"

Annabeth turned her attention back to the phone. "Jackie? Are you there?"

Harry knelt next to Jackie. "She's collapsed! I think she's really hurt."

Annabeth bit her lip. "Jackie. You need to get to camp. Shadow Travel if you can't walk. Just get to camp. Harry's life is in your hands."

Jackie groaned. "Harry… grab onto me as tight as you can and don't let go…. Whatever you do… don't let go…"

Harry wrapped his arms around Jackie's quiver, squeezing his arms into the tight strap. Jackie melted into shadows, taking Harry with her.

_"__Camp Half-Blood." _She thought. She pictured the canoe lake, the lava wall, everything that made Camp Half-Blood special to her and the other campers.

Suddenly, the coldness of the shadows melted away. They were standing almost 500 yards away from Half-Blood Hill…

On the outside of the magic border.

A howl from behind them made Jackie's blood run cold. A Hellhound, fully grown and super aggressive, was running straight at them.

If the adrenaline was pumping through her veins before, it was exploding now. Jackie grabbed Harry and ran like a madman towards the border.

The phone call hadn't disconnected when Jackie Shadow Travelled, so Annabeth was screaming questions and just yelling in general from her end of the call.

Jackie was less than 100 yards from the border when she tripped over a root. Her foot remained lodged under the root and she could actually hear her ankle snap. Not pretty.

The Hellhound was upon her in a matter of seconds, ripping at her leg and back, trying to kill her.

She screamed and threw her knife, quickly taken from Harry's hand, straight at its eye. It yelped and leapt back, pawing at its face.

She didn't know how deep the wounds on her back were but she got up and ran on all the same. The pain rocketed up her leg, making her scream and cry, but she had Harry on her shoulder and she wasn't going to let him die.

Annabeth thought she was being murdered by a Hellhound and had burst into tears, crying into her dad's shirt.

Jackie felt herself cross the border but knew that the Hellhound could still get through if it tried hard enough. She stumbled and fell, Harry rolling down the hill a little way.

"Harry!" She said, trying to crawl forward. "Scream. Scream as loud as you can. Yell for Argus or Chiron, hurry, call to them."

The young boy started screaming Chiron's name, then Argus. He screamed for them to hurry, something was attacking them, hurry.

Jackie passed out, but Harry dragged her down the hill as far as he could.

All the lights came on and a siren sounded inside of camp. The Athena Parthenos activated, but couldn't target the Hellhound in the dark, so just cast more light across the valley.

Annabeth heard Harry screaming and started cheering. They weren't dead. Jackie had done it. She'd brought Harry to camp safely.

Chiron galloped out of the Big House and shot arrow after arrow at the Hellhound, which had broken through the border and was now avoiding Peleus the dragon.  
The year-round campers charged and attacked the Hellhound, which was soon brought to its bloody and noisy demise.

Argus crouched at Jackie's side and began to check her over while Harry watched in awe as the Half-Bloods took down the Hellhound.

Chiron galloped over. "Argus! Is she alive?"

Argus made a so-so sign with his hand. Chiron cursed and slung his bow over his back. "Pass her up to me. Take the boy to the Big House and get him cleaned up, comfort him, whatever. He's had a rough night."

A few Apollo campers followed Chiron as he charged down the hill towards camp, Jackie clutched tight in his arms.

Annabeth didn't want to hang up, so Chiron transferred her to video call and connected her to the big screen in the Recreation Hall, which was where they were treating Jackie's wounds.

Chiron then called Sally Jackson to alert her to Jackie's whereabouts and to tell her a few lies that Jackie was just fine, just tired and dirty.

Sally burst into tears and passed the phone to Percy. "Chiron, what's her condition? Tell the truth, Old Man, or I'll come to camp tomorrow and cut your guts out."

"She's sustained bad claw scratch wounds to her abdomen by a werewolf, a broken ankle with bone shards sticking out of the flesh and was mauled by a Hellhound. She's alive, for how long no one knows."

Percy rubbed his temples, his eyes tearing up. "I'm coming to camp. I'm bringing Mom. Keep her alive until then at least."

Percy hung up. "Chiron is the worst liar in the whole damn world." He growled, snatching the car keys from the table.

"Mom, come with me. Paul, stay here and wait for me to call you. We're going to Camp Half-Blood."

Paul nodded. "Don't crash the Prius, alright? Be careful."

Sally grabbed her handbag and a box of tissues. Dusk howled and ran at Percy's leg, grasping his jeans in her teeth.

Percy scooped her up and opened the door. "Let's go, Mom."

Chiron paced around the Rec Hall while the Apollo healers worked, taking it in turns to heal and rest. Annabeth remained on the big screen, trying to talk to Chiron, to calm him down.

"But why did she risk everything for Harry? Why?" He asked her.

Annabeth shrugged. "Did she say anything about him seemed out of the ordinary? Different, even on demigod terms?"

"She said his aura was strange, that's all. I don't find anything strange about that, do you?"

Clarisse barged into the room. "Chiron! Come quick!"

Chiron sighed and ran outside. Harry was standing in a ring of kneeling demigods, a glowing scythe symbol hanging above his head.

Chiron stared in awe. "All hail Harry Lancer, son of Demeter."

"I get it. Harry's a child of Demeter, so his aura would be different to that of most of our campers. Demeter has children with mortals a lot less than other gods. And her children are normally very powerful, so that would be why Jackie picked up on Harry's aura so easily."

Annabeth continued to piece together the facts while Chiron went back to pacing, now chewing on his knuckles as well.

The Apollo campers suddenly pulled away. "We've done everything we can for now, guys. New order, pass out."

Most of the campers made it to the rug in front of the fire before they collapsed. One or two curled up in chairs, but one, James Fryar, remained standing.

Chiron walked over to him. "Will she live?"

"She's stable, conscious, talking and responding to us. Yes, I think she will. Unless she catches some sort of deadly disease or infection, she'll be fine."

"How high is the risk of infection?"

"Next to nothing." James said, yawning. "We used all our energy on keeping her alive. She may have some permanent damage to the nerves in her back, though, so be gentle with her."

Will lay down on the ping pong table and fell asleep.

Suddenly, the door burst open, causing a cold draft to blow into the building and the sleeping campers to grumble.

Percy grasped his mom's hand and dragged her forward towards Chiron.

"Where. Is. My. Sister. Spit it out, Pony Boy, or I swear I'll…"

Dusk whimpered and leapt out of Percy's grip, bounding over to the side of Jackie's bed. Sally shrieked at the sight of Jackie lying there and knelt beside the wolf pup.

Jackie turned her head carefully, the neck brace restricting her movement. "Hey Mom."

Percy pulled up a chair next to the bed. "Why'd you do it, Jackie, you could have asked for help."

"You… d-don't want to… f-fight monsters… during… c-college." She stuttered, her mouth not working right.

"You still could have asked for help. I'm always up for it."

Sally started to cry. "You scared us so badly. When Chiron called, I thought something was wrong. Oh, when I find Chiron I swear I'll kill him!"

Percy rolled his eyes. "And what do you think we'll look like?"

"Dark hair, a brown horse's body and an archer's bow, like the pictures in the books."

Percy pointed at Chiron, who was looking at his pure white coat of Winter hair for any sign of brown.

"That's your horse."

Sally stormed off to face Chiron, who immediately suggested to talk about it over a cup of coffee.

Percy sighed and looked up at Annabeth. "Why didn't you call me?"

"Jackie called me first." Annabeth said defensively. "You can't call someone while you're calling someone else."

Percy rolled his eyes and turned back to Jackie, who was fiddling with the needles in her arms.

"You should've asked for help."

Jackie rolled her eye. "That would've g-gotten… b-both of us… in t-trouble."

Percy grabbed her hand. "I don't care. That werewolf scratch isn't going to disappear any time soon. You'll probably have damage to your back for the rest of your life. And that will be a long time since you're a Hunter of Artemis."

Jackie muttered something rude and counted the needles in her arm. Twelve in total, plus a neck brace, cast on her ankle and an oxygen mask. That had to be a record.

Percy sighed and looked out of the window. "Hey, it's snowing."

Sure enough, tiny snowflakes spiralled through the air outside. Jackie watched the flakes fall for a little bit before falling asleep.

The next morning was very cold outside, but pleasantly cosy inside the Rec Room. Leo had kept the fire stoked that night.

Calypso sang songs while she worked on a sewing project that morning. Jackie awoke to hear her singing the lullaby from the book _Holes_. Jackie liked that book.

Calypso saw that Jackie was awake and walked over to her.

"You have a nice voice." Jackie said quietly.

Calypso smiled. "Thank you. You, though, should still be asleep."

Jackie crossed her arms grumpily, careful of the needles. "I'm not tired."

"No, you're very tired." Said Calypso, her voice suddenly becoming irresistible.

Jackie felt the spell working on her, but fought it. "Am not."

"Are so."

"Not."

"Go to sleep, you little wretch." Growled Calypso. "Or I'll knock you out with a baseball bat."

Her words must've still be lined with magic, because Jackie closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

Leo walked over. "That's my girl. You're really good with kids, you know that?"

"That's why I'm so good at putting up with you."

Leo gave her a pained expression. "Don't be mean, Calypso, it hurts my feelings. To think I fell in love with a monster. I could've just left you on Ogygia, but no, I…"

Calypso reached over an kissed him. "You promised to come back and you did like a good boy should."

Leo nodded. "On the condition that you will kiss me again please."

Calypso did as he asked, then slapped him. "That will do."

Leo nodded and went back to the fire, crawling inside the flames to stay warm and keep away from Calypso (_Cough-__**Mostly to keep away from Calypso**__-Cough_).

Jackie awoke much later in the day. Sally was beside her again. "Are you awake?"

Jackie nodded, still too sleepy to say something sarcastic.

Sally smiled. "I called Paul to tell him you were alright. I spoke to Chiron last night and most of this morning and he says it's okay for you to go home this evening if you feel up to it."

Jackie zoned out for a moment to look over Sally's shoulder at Chiron, who was cradling his arm and had a cold pack attached to his head with bandages.

"You beat him up, that's what you did." Jackie said accusingly.

Sally glanced over at Chiron, who edged away from her gaze. "The plate slipped out of my hand, that's all."

Chiron shook his head frantically once Sally turned back to Jackie.

_"__She threw it at me."_ He mouthed_. "She's a good shot, though."_

Jackie smiled softly behind the oxygen mask. Chiron was too patient with Sally.

James came over, a nasty expression worn on his face. "Don't you dare do that again, Jackie, you scared the hell out of us. Your life is not just something you can throw away like it's worth nothing, do you understand me?!"

Jackie nodded, a little freaked out, until James started laughing. "Oh, you should see your face. Ha! Classic."

He walked off, still laughing. Sally leaned towards Jackie and whispered in her ear. "That one's cute."

Jackie pulled the mask down and whispered back. "I prefer boys with brown hair."

Sally laughed, making Jackie smile along with her. James wasn't the only one that could make jokes.

James came back after a few minutes and removed the needles from Jackie's arms and the neck brace.

"You can take the oxygen mask off by yourself, now that I have removed the adrenaline drips, but I'd prefer that you didn't for the time being."

Jackie nodded. "Alright."

Chiron approached carefully, avoiding getting within a metre of Sally. "Nice to see that you no longer look like a pin cushion, Jackie."

Jackie smiled up at him. "Nice to see that you're not having breathing problems, Chiron."

Sally looked between the two. "Pardon? Breathing problems."

"Chiron got stabbed in the chest at the battle in New Rome in the Summer. I lost an eye protecting him." Jackie said cheerfully.

Sally stared at Chiron's horse-half chest, which still had scars deep in the flesh.

"Oh, Chiron, I didn't know! I'm so sorry." She said, looking deeply remorseful for her actions against the centaur.

Chiron smiled. "That's okay, Sally. It's not the first time someone's thrown a plate at me."

Jackie's face fell. "When else has someone thrown a plate at you?"

"There's been a few occasions. Mostly it was my cousins, but… yeah…"

Jackie sighed. "You have to be more careful."

Chiron nodded and walked off.

Jackie pulled off the oxygen mask, taking a deep breath of normal air. James scowled at her across the room, so she put it back on.

Later that evening…

"Be safe. And remember, we have Keepers to bring Half-Bloods to camp!" Chiron called, waving as Jackie left the camp.

The car drive back home was full of chatter and laughter. Percy drove, not trusting his mom to not turn around and talk to Jackie, who was sitting in the back seat with Dusk.

Percy continued to scold Jackie about not asking for help, until his mother slapped his arm. "Drop it, Percy. She got flustered and knew you didn't want to deal with monsters during college."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Just because I don't want to doesn't mean I would've said no. I might have said no and told her to call camp for a Keeper, but the mostly likely outcome would be..."

"What does the title 'Keeper' even mean?" Jackie asked.

Percy shook his head. "It probably means 'I'll keep you alive.' But I'm not sure."

Jackie nodded. "I don't think it means goal keeper, like in soccer."

Percy laughed. "No. Normally, satyrs hate sport. At least, Grover does."

Sally cut in. "Grover is getting very tall, isn't he?"

For the rest of the drive, Sally and Percy talked about how Camp Half-Blood had changed and how much older people looked.


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8- Merry Christmas.

Jackie fell asleep after a bit and had to be awoken by Sally when they got home. It was dark, of course, so it was easy to hide the fact that Jackie was wearing a quiver with all sorts of weapons strapped to it.

Paul was waiting at the door, Percy's little sister in his arms.

"Jackie, are you alright?" He asked, passing the baby to Sally.

Jackie nodded and headed to her room. Sally patted Paul's shoulder. "She's fine. Last night, I wasn't so sure, but she'll be fine."

Percy grumbled. "On Christmas Eve too."

Jackie appeared again, now without her weapons. "Did you just say it's Christmas Eve?"

Paul nodded. "Yes, he did. Why do you ask?"

Jackie walked back to her room and came back a moment later with three packages in her arms.

She walked over to the Christmas tree, which had been put up almost a week earlier, and put them beneath it.

"There. That's better." She said, stepping back to join the rest of the family in looking at it.

Percy ruffled her hair. "Annabeth's coming over tonight to stay for Christmas."

Sally gave Percy a suspicious look. "And where do you expect her to sleep?"

"Well, she could sleep on the couch…"

"No."

"Or my room…"

"Percy!"

"She can stay in Jackie's room!"

Jackie nodded. "I don't have any problem with that."

Percy looked a little sheepish, so Sally prodded him in the ribs. "Who else is coming?"

"Jason and Thalia."

"Is that all?"

"And Nico."

"That it?"

"Yep."

Sally sighed. "Percy, Nico and Jason are staying in your room. Annabeth and Thalia can bunk with Jackie."

Paul smiled. "And I thought that we would get a quiet family Christmas for once."

The doorbell didn't stop ringing for most of the afternoon. Annabeth was the first to arrive, followed by Jason (five minutes later), Thalia (three minute after Jason) and Nico (28.5 seconds after Thalia).

Sally got out extra chairs and Paul helped Thalia set up the magic camp beds, courtesy of the Hunters of Artemis.

Thalia talked to Jackie about the incident at Camp Half-Blood.

"The same thing happened to me a few years ago." Thalia explained. "I lay dying at the top of Half-Blood Hill and do you know what Zeus did to stop me dying?"

"What did he do?"

"Turned me into a pine tree. The Golden Fleece purged my soul from it when it was hung onto one of the branches, so here I am."

Jackie stared straight into the Huntress'. "I'm glad I wasn't turned into a tree."

"So am I. You are a strong fighter. Jackie… nah, forget it…"

Jackie looked up at Thalia. "What is it?"

Thalia sighed. "Jackie, I want you to become a Hunter full time. We're starting to run out of places to find recruits and we're about to go on a really dangerous hunt."

"Where are you going to make it so dangerous?"

"Greece."

Jackie's brain faltered for a second. "Greece? As in, where the Blood of Olympus awoke Gaia? Greece?!"

Thalia nodded. "There are a few jobs we have to complete along the way, so we won't get there as quickly as we would like."

"Why would you want to go to Greece? It's full of monsters and...!"

"Exactly. The monsters will be so rare. We've heard that there's a large movement of werewolves in a concentrated area."

Jackie shivered and looked at her bag, which was propped up behind her closet. Thalia glanced over at it. "What's in that?"

Jackie unzipped the bag. The thick wolfskin fell out, tumbling onto the floor.

Thalia knelt down beside it and stroked it. "It is true. You did take on a trio of werewolves, didn't you?"

Jackie nodded and picked up the skin. "I was so naïve. I wanted a trophy, a spoil of war, so badly. I got Harry to skin the wolf while I fought off the final one myself, but I…"

"You did what any sane person would have done. A werewolf skin was worth the risk. That is why we are going to Alaska. To investigate and kill the werewolves before they begin getting ideas about attacking Olympus."

Jackie picked up the skin and turned to put it back in the bag, but Thalia caught her shoulder. "Pass it here."

Jackie did as she was told, passing Thalia the soft fur. "What are you doing?"

Thalia drew her knife and dug a hole in the two corners at the top of the skin, attaching a long, thick jewellery chain.

She hug the newly-appointed cloak around Jackie's shoulders, hanging it sideways so that it covered Jackie's left arm.

"Good, but the top looks a little bit… iffy."

Thalia dug around in Sally's old clothes trunk, which had been given to Jackie. She pulled out a delicate jade-green scarf, which was tied at a midpoint by a dainty silver charm.

"This will do nicely." She said, handing it around Jackie's neck to cover the edge of the cloak.

Jackie rubbed her hand down the warm fur. "Thalia? If I become a full-time Huntress, will I have to give up on Danny?"

Thalia shook her head. "No. That's an allowance made to you by Artemis. You are allowed to keep it."

Jackie nodded. "Alright. I will go with you on the Hunt."

The next day was Christmas. Jackie's first proper Christmas, to be precise.

Percy and Annabeth were the first up, Annabeth having moved into Percy's room after Sally had gone to bed. Jason and Nico had quickly disappeared to the living room to whisper-argue over who got to sleep on the couch.

Thalia was next, kicking Jackie awake. "Get up! I'm not going out there without you."

Jackie looked around the room. It was still darkish, but the sun was rising steadily over the horizon.

Thalia pulled on her dressing gown, Jackie following suit. Jackie pulled on her eyepatch after tying back her braided hair.

Sally and Paul had gotten up before everyone else and prepared a special Christmas breakfast. Blue pancakes, blue milk and cookies, blue toast and blue Christmas crackers.

Soon, the crackers were banging and bad jokes were being told. Sally had outdone herself with all the blue food. Jason tried to give Jackie a 'Christmas Kiss' but received a slap from both Jackie and Thalia.

Paul dressed up in a Santa Claus hat and beard and put an elf costume on the baby.

Thalia laughed. "Hey, what is the baby's name?"

Sally smiled. "Her name is Estelle. My mother's name."

Thalia smiled and took Estelle into her arms. They all took turns holding her, passing her around the table.

Percy suddenly stood up and walked over to the kitchen bench, taking a glossy apple from the fruit bowl.

"Percy…" His mom said in a warning tone.

He rolled his eyes. "It's okay, it's not for me."

He tossed it to Annabeth, who instinctively caught it, then shrieked. "Percy! What have I told you about…?!"

Percy grinned. "I know that tossing someone an apple is the Ancient Greek way of proposing, Wise Girl. And it wasn't an accident…"

He dropped down on one knee next to her, pulling a small velvet box out of his back pocket. "Wise Girl, you'd better say you'll marry me."

Annabeth shook her head. "I will not marry you, Percy. I shall join you in wedlock and make your life a misery instead…"

Percy looked heartbroken, until she added. "Which is the same thing."

The whole room cheered, making a huge group hug around the 'happy couple.'

Annabeth kissed Percy on the lips, then grabbed his arm and judo flipped him over her shoulders.

"Nice going, Seaweed Brain."

Paul grinned. "And on that happy note, let's move over to the tree."

Sally and Paul managed to herd the group of demigods over around the tree. Nico and Jackie sat next to each other, Jason and Thalia opposite them, Annabeth and Percy on the couch and Paul, Sally and Estelle huddled next to the tree.

The gifts were exchanged and smiles were passed around. Percy loved the necklace that Jackie had gotten him, getting Annabeth to put it on him immediately.

Paul liked his mug, understanding immediately when Jackie told him why she couldn't get him one that said '#1 Dad' on it.

Sally marked a few of the recipes in her book that she wanted to try, saying that she would find it very helpful that night while trying to cook dinner for 'this hungry lot.'

Thalia pulled a present out from under the tree. "To Jason, love… Dad…"

Jason took it carefully in his hands. "What would Dad want to send me…?"

He opened the box and pulled out an electric-blue cloak. It suited him a lot better than the purple one from Camp Jupiter.

He wiped a small tear from his cheek. "Thanks Dad."

Jackie pulled another box out. "To Thalia, from Lady Artemis…"

Thalia was cautious while opening the box, but what was inside surprised her. A white jacket, just like her normal Huntress jacket, but hooded and lined with werewolf fur.

"Oh wow…" She breathed silently.

Nico was the next to get a present from his godly parent. Inside his box was a locket, shaped like a small heart. He opened it to find two pictures inside. One of him and his sisters, Bianca, Hazel and Jackie, and one of his parents.

He hung it around his neck, smiling softly as he tucked it under his shirt.

Annabeth found a wedding veil in her parcel, a small tiara decorated with tiny owls for the soft veil netting to be attached to.

"Percy?" She asked quietly. "Did you get my mom's permission to marry me?"

He kissed her gently. "Of course. I asked her before I asked your dad."

Percy's gift was a fishing rod and a box of lures. He grinned. "Last time I saw Poseidon fishing, he caught a huge sea monster. I'm not sure if I want to go fishing with him any time soon."

The group burst out laughing. Estelle giggled and formed a single word with her tiny lips.

"Poseidon." She said, still giggling.

Sally groaned. "Not you too!"

That made everyone laugh even more.

They continued to open the parcels until there was only one left. Paul took it out.

"To Twice, love from Hera and Aphrodite." He said passing it to her.

Annabeth screamed. "Don't open it!"

Percy fainted, Jason and Nico's screams were higher pitched than Annabeth's and Sally whimpered softly.

Jackie bit her lip. She'd heard about the Queen of the Olympus and the Goddess of Love from Percy. She really did not want to open the box, but, on the other hand, it would be dangerous not to.

She carefully untied the silk ribbon, taking off the rosy paper underneath, working like a bomb disposal worker. Slowly and steadily.

She then cut open the tape across the top of the box with her knife, only pushing the blade very shallowly into the box, careful not to touch anything on the inside.

She leaned back and opened the box, using only the tips of her fingers. Inside was…

"A bridal gown?" Jackie said, pulling out the delicate lace-covered dress and veil, along with a pair of white heeled boots and a necklace of rubies carved to look like tiny roses.

Percy, who had just woken up from his fainting fit, looked around the room nervously. "Who are they marrying her off to?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know. But it can't mean anything good."

What worried Jackie the most was that there had been a small envelope hidden in the folds of the dress, but she'd snatched it away and hidden it in her jacket before any of the others could see.

They cleaned up the wrapping paper and the boxes, thanking everyone and getting ready for lunch.

Jackie went to her room to study the dress and read the letter inside the envelope.

The dress had a scarlet sash around the middle and there were fake roses that could be braided into her hair.

She looked nervously at the letter, building up the strength to open it.

She cracked the wax seal on the back, opening the envelope.

It read:

Dear Jacqueline,

We are sorry for the shock of getting a wedding dress on Christmas, but it was the last chance we had to get it to you. Thalia will explain what all of this is about, but you may not like it.

Enjoy your trip to Greece. The Holy Lands are lovely at this time of year.

Love, Hera and Aphrodite.

Jackie read the note three times before finally getting some sense out of it.

When Thalia entered the room, Jackie looked up at the older girl. "Thalia? Can you shed any light on this?"

Thalia scanned the note in Jackie's hand. "No…"

Jackie raised her eyebrows. Thalia sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll have to tell you the whole plan.

When we reach Greece, we are going to head for the Pillars of Hercules. Hercules himself won't dare to bother us, since we're on a mission for him…"

Jackie snorted. "I thought we didn't work for men?"

"This is different." Thalia assured her. "There's a river god a little way from his pillars, Achelous. He is a literal cow. Well, he and Hercules had this big fight over a woman thousands of years ago. Hercules won after he snapped off one of Achelous's horns. Piper snapped off the other one when The Seven went to Greece. Well, since then, Achelous stole his horn back. Hercules is not happy about it and keeps breaking stuff up on Mount Olympus, throwing fits and just causing an all-round mess. Lady Artemis is tired of it and is sending us to get the horn back."

Jackie crossed her arms. "Where does a bridal gown come into this?"

Thalia sighed. "Since you're not a full Huntress, you've been entrusted with the job of decoy. The Hunters can only get close enough to steal the horn again if Achelous is distracted. Since Hercules and Achelous's rivalry started over a bride, we thought he might be distracted by a beautiful young girl being forced into a marriage by her cruel father that runs to his river to hide. You are that girl."

Jackie sighed sadly. "I won't have to give up on Danny, will I?"

"Artemis has come through for that. She will allow you to pretend to fall in love with the river god, but, if you do actually fall in love, Aphrodite will be on hand to snap you out of it."

Jackie nodded. "When do we leave?"

Thalia stared at her. "You're agreeing to this?!"

"No. I need to know the times if I'm going to run away before we set off to Greece. Of course I agree."

Thalia sighed with relief. "Well, that's one burden off my shoulders. We leave tomorrow…"


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9: To Love a River God

Sally was not happy about Jackie going on a dangerous quest with the Hunters so soon after recovering from the incident at Half-Blood Hill.

"I don't agree, but I don't think I have much of a choice." She said, watching Jackie and Thalia packing.

Jackie hugged her surrogate mom goodbye. "I promise I'll come back alive."

They means of transport were slightly… unique. Apollo had offered personally to take the Hunters to the Pillars in the Sun. Literally.

Artemis and the other Hunters were out the front of the Jackson/Blofis house before the sun rose the next morning.

"All set?" Artemis asked, watching the sun rise slowly over the horizon.

Suddenly, in the middle of the street, a glowing bus appeared. Behind the wheel was probably on of the hottest guys Jackie had ever seen.

"Hey, little sis! Nice to see you again!" He said, grinning his perfect grin.

Artemis scowled. "Apollo. Stay away from my Hunters."

Apollo hopped out of the bus as the Hunters entered. Thalia and Jackie hung back to say goodbye to Percy and the others.

Jackie felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with Apollo.

"Hey, Sweetheart, what would it take for you to sit up the front with me, eh?"

Jackie looked him up and down, narrowing her eyes. "A miracle."

Apollo looked a little stunned at her coolness, but recovered after a moment.

"You'll warm up to me, eventually. I am the Sun God, after all."

Jackie scoffed. "I would rather kiss Percy and face Annabeth's wrath."

Apollo mimicked her scoff. "I've met Percy, you know. Wouldn't you prefer a blonde?"

"I once said that I prefer guys with dark hair."

Apollo ran his fingers through his hair. It turned chocolatey-brown with small waves. His eyes changed from blue to amber, matching hers.

"Better?" He asked, grinning.

"No. You're still hopeless at flirting." She said.

"Oh, I get it. You're playing hard-to-get. I can fix that."

He grabbed her shoulders roughly and pulled her towards him, trying to pull her in for an embrace, maybe a little more.

In less than a second, he was flat on his back and wondering how he got there.

Jackie stood over him. "I'm sorry, but I'm spoken for. So you can get…"

Artemis grasped Jackie's shoulder gently. "That will do, Twice. Apollo, on your feet!"

The god of music struggled to his feet. "What now?"

"Get in that bus and get us to the Pillars of Hercules. I don't care how long it takes, or where we stop, but STAY AWAY FROM MY HUNTERS!"

Apollo yelped and dived into the bus, narrowly missing a swipe to his head from his oh-so-loving sister.

Jackie whistled, calling Dusk over. The half-grown grey wolf cub was much larger than the petite timber wolves, but radiated skill and poise, both necessary to the Hunt.

She looked back once more, giving Sally a brave smile. Sally smiled back, her eyes teary.

Paul put his arms around his wife and stepson. "I'll look after them until you get back. I promise."

Jackie's smiled softened a little. "Thanks. See you soon… Mom, Dad. Percy…"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Sure, they get endearing names and I get Percy."

Jackie chuckled and finished her sentence. "The best big bro I ever had, except Nico."

Nico's ears went red. Jason put his arm around the shorter boy, which resulted in Percy, who was even taller, putting his arm around Jason.

Jackie entered the bus and chose a seat carefully so that she'd be able to wave out the window at her family until they were too high up to see them anymore.

Artemis quizzed some of the Hunters on monsters on the trip. Thalia undid and redid the braids in Jackie's hair. Jackie fiddled with her eyepatch and discovered it had a secret opening with a message engraved inside.

"All Da Ladies Luv Leo!" She read aloud to Thalia. They both burst into fits of laughter.

"Oh that is the funniest thing I've ever heard." Jackie said between breaths as they finished laughing.

Thalia nodded. "If Calypso found out about that, she'd be furious."

Jackie looked at the opening again and saw the engraving change into a picture. Sally, Paul, Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Jason, Thalia and herself all sitting around the Christmas Tree.

Thalia stared at it. "I think it's playing your memories."

Jackie watched as the image changed again to the Battle for Camp Jupiter. This time the image played as a video. It view from a third person vantage as Jackie fought the Hooded Demigod, identity still unknown.

Then it stopped playing images, turning back to 'All Da Ladies Luv Leo!"

Jackie saw two clips on the side of the small 'video disk.' She unclipped them.

The small disk grew in size to the size of a small dessert plate.

Jackie thought for a moment. "Show me Achelous."

She was almost certain that nothing would happen, so was surprised when the picture of a cow with only one horn appeared.

He seemed to be staring at the moon, crying.

"Why? Why does everyone leave me here alone? Why?"

The image faded.

Jackie turned the clips back into their original position and close the secret compartment, strapping her eyepatch back onto her face.

"Poor Achelous." Thalia sighed. "He does look extremely lonely. It almost makes this whole plan look cruel."

Jackie looked at her backpack where the bridal gown was being kept. "Will we still go through with it?"

"I said it _almost_ made the plan cruel. I didn't say that it was totally awful."

They soon forgot the subject as the trip continued. Jackie watched the Earth pass by beneath them.

It took a long time to get to the Pillars of Hercules. Dusk was causing a riot in the back of the bus by crawling over everyone and chewing on someone's shoe.

But, eventually, the pillars, and a huge dude in a lionskin, appeared through a break in the clouds.

Apollo landed the bus neatly in the centre of the beach. The Hunters got off, muttering their thanks the Apollo as they walked past him.

"Hey, no prob!" He called to them, shutting the door behind them. The bus morphed into a red Maserati sports car.

"I'll see you later! See ya, lil' sis!" He called, taking off.

Jackie watched him until the bright became too much for her retinas to take. "Your brother is pretty much the complete opposite of you, Lady Artemis."

"I agree." Artemis said, picking up her pack. "Hunters, assemble!"

The maidens all linked arms and made a sort of ginormous group huddle.

Thalia looked at Artemis, who gave her a quick nod.

She cleared her throat. "Right! Here we are, Pillars of Hercules. Does everyone know the mission objective?"

They all called out positive responses.

Thalia grinned. "Good. Jackie, you have the dress?"

"Affirmative. It's in my bag."

"Good. Now, here comes Hercules. Begin to set up camp and make yourselves look super busy. Go!"

The Hunters dispersed as Hercules came over the hill, the fur on his lionskin shimmering slightly in the sunlight.

"Artemis! Thank the gods you're here!" He yelled as he entered camp and approached Artemis. Jackie saw his stance and studied it quickly, coming up with one answer; aggressive.

She ran over to him, jumping as high as she could to tap him on the shoulder. "Hey, Mr Hercules? Can I have your opinion on something?"

Hercules looked down at her, his expression confused. No one ever asked for his opinion on anything.

"Yeah, what?"

Jackie showed him the werewolf skin. "I need help to… position this so that I can use my shield and sword at the same time!"

Hercules grinned. He knelt down and gently twisted the cloak so that it covered her back and shoulder instead of her entire arm.

"There you go, kiddo. Go kill a cyclops for me, okay?"

Jackie nodded. "Okay!"

She retreated back a bit, looking over at Artemis, who gave her an endearing smile. Calming Hercules down before he spoke to Artemis seemed to smooth out the entire operation.

Soon, Jackie was being dragged into a tent and dressed in the wedding gown. Aphrodite herself appeared just in time to do Jackie's makeup.

"What about my eye? He will notice it." Jackie said.

Artemis checked it out. "Easy fix."

Jackie looked into the mirror again. Her eye looked completely fine, but she still couldn't see out of it.

Artemis sighed. "I can't bring back the vision in your eye. But, I can make it look normal. I'll get Apollo to look into it when he picks us up tomorrow."

Aphrodite stepped back. "Eh, she's got a lot of freckles on her arms and hands. And callouses. I will have to fix that."

Aphrodite snapped her fingers and in the blink of an eye, all the freckles and scars on Jackie's skin disappeared, leaving her skin tanned and clear.

She looked in the mirror and Aphrodite did up her hair and laid the veil over it smoothly.

"There, all done!"

Jackie looked truly radiant. Her lips, eyes and cheek were all lightly coloured with pink. Pearls were braided into her hair and white silk gloves covered her arms up to her elbows.

"I…" She couldn't think of what to say.

Sadly, Hercules finished the sentence for her. "…want you to be _my _wife."

Artemis stepped in front of Jackie. "Hercules, she's one of my Hunters. Keep your distance."

"I know, I know. But, if she ever wants to get out of the Hunters…"

_"__HERCULES!"_

The huge man took a few steps back. "All right, all right, geez."

Jackie walked out of the tent, into the view of the other Hunters. They gasped at the sight.

"Wow!" Thalia cried. "Do you want me to take a photo of that on your phone?"

Jackie chucked her the device. "Sure."

Thalia took a few photos, then put the phone into Jackie's field pack.

Jackie turned to Aphrodite. "Thank you, Lady Aphrodite."

Aphrodite smiled. "No problem, Sweetie. It was my pleasure."

Fiona, one of the older Hunters, approached from the direction of the river. "The lead and secondary archers are in position. Achelous doesn't have a clue on what's happening."

Artemis grinned. "Ready for action, Jackie?"

Jackie nodded. "I guess it's time to ruin that cow's life."


	10. Chapter 10

Right. This may be the last upload for a little while. I need to catch up on writing it. Big surprises coming up soon, though. :)

Part 10- Hunt to the Death

Jackie ran down the beach and through the forest. She pretended to be running away from something, or someone, so kept getting whacked in the face with branches. Luckily, the make up that Aphrodite had put on her wouldn't smear, smudge or run, so no matter how many tears fell down her cheeks, it would still look like she had perfect skin.

Soon, she reached the clearing around the river. She ran straight to the river and collapsed beside it, sobbing hard. It wasn't hard to fake. She just thought of every horrible moment she'd ever had, put them all together and let it all go.

Of course that would attract attention.

The water rippled a few metres away from where she sat. Achelous appeared, exactly as Artemis thought he would.

He seemed a little shocked to see a beautiful bride to be sitting on his river bank crying.

"My dear, are you alright?" He asked, creeping over to her, but remaining in the water.

She looked up, pretending not to be shocked that a cow had just spoken to her.

"Oh, it's horrible! My father wants to marry me off to an awful, fat boy today. I ran away before the ceremony and now he is hunting me like an animal!"

Achelous looked at her pitifully. "That is awful. Child, what is your name?"

Jackie decided not to use her own name. "My name is Helena."

Achelous looked stunned. "Helen? Helen of Troy?"

Jackie, aka Helena, shook her head and laughed sadly. "No. Helena of Athens."

He then started to flirt. "Just as beautiful, twice as nice."

Jackie stiffened a little at the word 'twice' but relaxed when she realised he hadn't said her name.

"And you must be Achelous, the god of this river. I've heard a story about you."

"Really? You really did?"

Jackie nodded. "Yes. It said that you beat Hercules in a contest for a wife."

Achelous shook his head. "As nice as that is, it is not true. He cut off my horn and stole the girl that was promised as my wife. Recently, another girl and her… boyfriend… cut off my other horn and stole it. They left me here, humiliated and alone. But, even more recently, I struck back. I stole this horn (he pointed to the one that had been refused to his head) back from Hercules. He was furious!"

Jackie laughed. "Wow. I wish my fiancé was that brave."

Achelous crept a little closer. "How about I be your fiancé."

"Really?" Jackie made her voice sound excited.

"Of course! We could live here in the river. You'd be immortal and have the most beautiful river bed you ever saw for a garden. You'd have pearl jewellery and a coral throne. You'd be queen of the river!"

She reached out and stroked the side of Achelous's face. "I would like that. I would like that a lot."

He smiled. "Jump in and it will all be yours."

Jackie took a few steps back, as if getting a run up. Suddenly, Hercules erupted from the trees and snatched Jackie away.

"You can't have her!" He roared. "She's mine!"

Achelous was in shock. Jackie screamed and struggled in Hercules' grip. Thalia shot out of her hiding place and cut the horn from Achelous's head.

The god roared in pain and fear. "Hercules! How dare you steal her!"

Jackie screamed as Hercules tightened his grip. "She's mine, Achelous! And always will be!"

Hercules turned tail and ran back towards his beach, Jackie thrown over his shoulder. She outstretched her arm.

"Achelous! Achelous, I'll come back! I promise!"

Achelous roared and screamed from his river. "Helena of the Sea! My beautiful bride!"

Hercules charged down the beach, taking Jackie out of Achelous's sight and reach. He then turned and ran into the forest, crashing through the underbrush.

He tossed Jackie to the ground and walked over to her. "You are truly beautiful."

Jackie coughed. "Yeah, that's something you say after you kidnap someone."

"You will be my wife!"

Jackie shrieked as Hercules dragged her to her feet and clutched her tightly to him. He started to fiddle with the catch on her dress, then gave up on that and tried to kiss her.

She screamed. "Artemis! Artemis, help! MOM!"

Hercules cried out in pain as The Lady of the Moon herself stabbed him in the thigh.

"GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" She screamed at him, snatching Jackie away from him. Jackie cried. "You're a monster, Hercules! I hate you!"

Thalia put her arm around the younger Huntress. "Hercules, you nearly ruined the plan. You were supposed to remain on the beach and wait for us to get back."

Artemis nodded. "The Hunters are going to keep the horn until we think you deserve it."

"No."

They all turned to Jackie, stunned that she had spoken.

She reached into her bag, which was slung over Thalia's shoulder. She pulled out…

"The other horn…" Artemis gasped.

Jackie nodded. "Piper gave it to me back in New Rome. She told me to give it back to the owner. I now know who she meant."

Thalia handed her the other horn. "Are you sure about this?"

"He lost a wife and his horn at the same time and suffered for eternity. I think I'm sure."

She ran off before Hercules or Artemis could argue.

Nearing the river, she saw Achelous looking down the beach, lost and upset.

"Achelous!" She cried.

He whipped around. "Helena… my word…"

She knelt next to the river, the horns still grasped in her hands. "I found one with a girl and the other I stole from Hercules. I want you to have them back."

Achelous reached up and took them from her, tears in her eyes. "My darling! Now we can be together forever!"

Jackie sighed sadly. "Achelous, there is something I must take care of first. I will return, one day, that I swear. But, I have to run. My father would find me here and kill me if he found me with you."

"Who is your father? I can take him on."

She made a quick prayer not to be vaporized. "Poseidon, King of the Sea."

A roll of thunder came from the ocean. Jackie bent down and kissed Achelous on the cheek. "I will send Iris messages every week until I return. Goodbye, Achelous."

He smiled. "I shall await your calls. Goodbye, Helena."

Jackie smiled and fled back into the forest, turning and waving before entering the trees.

Artemis waited for her. "Will you really call him every week?"

"I promised, didn't I? And I intend to keep that promise."

Thalia patted her friend on the shoulder. "You really are a brilliant Hunter."

Apollo was back at sunrise to take them all the way to Greece. Having learned his lesson from last time, he kept a respectable distance between himself and the Huntresses.

Jackie slipped the ruined bridal outfit into her bag. "I'll get Aphrodite to fix it for me later."

Artemis approached her while they set up camp in the Parthenon.

"Jackie. I want to reward you for what you did in the last Hunt. And, apologise for Hercules' actions."

Jackie shook her head. "I do not need repaying, My Lady. I…"

"Call me Mom."

Jackie stared at the goddess. "Pardon?"

"I claimed you, did I not? And, anyway… I quite like it."

Jackie nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

"Now then, about repaying you. I will give you 24 hours to decide on what you would like. If you do not choose, I will give you what I see fit, that being a pat on the back and a 'job well done.' Understood?"

Jackie nodded. "Sure. Sure."

Artemis smiled and walked away, leaving Jackie with a tough decision on her hands.

By the next morning, the Hunters were up and packed, ready to leave the Parthenon before the tourists showed up.

Jackie still had enough charge on her phone to take a 3-D scan of the Parthenon with a special app Annabeth had downloaded for her over Christmas.

Thalia called the younger girl over. "Check out this writing!"

Jackie knelt beside the marble slab that Thalia pointed to. Ancient Greek letters were engraved into the stone. It spoke of some ancient law, or rule.

Suddenly, the writing changed. It became English.

"That's not a law…" One of the Hunters stated, a little obviously.

Thalia frowned. "No. That's a prophecy."

The inscription was scanned and pondered over by all the Hunters. It read:

One child, born from forbidden cause,

Shall die her death, drowned in a lie,

Clamped within cruel death's jaws,

In impossible hands away she'll fly.

Jackie felt the blood drain from her face. "I think that's talking about… me."

Thalia rested her hand on Jackie's shoulder as the words faded back into the ancient Greek law.

"I'm sorry, mate. I'm really sorry."

Jackie stood up, her eyes teary. "Let's go. As Percy once told me; It happens when it happens."

Thalia smiled softly. "Let's see what happens, then."

The Hunters moved out, Artemis leading, with Thaila two steps behind on her right and Jackie two steps behind on her left, the others falling into their places behind them, holding their heads high.

But frightened for what was to come.

It wasn't just werewolves that were gathering in Greece. A whole lot of monsters had gathered around one cliff, all looking at something at its crest.

A rasping female voice echoed off the cliff-face. "We will kill them all! Starting with Perseus Jackson!"

The monsters roared, stamped their feet and made an all-round uproar.

Artemis pointed towards where the female voice was coming from. "That is Kampe, jailer of the Elder Cyclopes and The Hundred-Handed Ones."

The Hunters camped well away from the gathering of monsters, that way as to not attract too much unwanted attention.

Some monsters were sent as scouts, but these were slaughtered and robbed for their skins before completely dissolved.

Thalia called a council of war after the third round of attacks.

"Well, we can't just stay here and wait for all the monsters to attack us. We need a plan."

No one volunteered one.

Artemis sighed. "Well, what are we going to…?"

"Attack them head-on. If we send a majority of the Hunters to the head of the pack to disorientate them, then we can send a reserve group around the back to deal with Kampe. Once Kampe is gone, the rest of the monsters should retreat."

They all turned to Jackie, who was staring at her phone. She looked up innocently. "What?! I asked Annabeth for help!"

Thalia smiled. "Good on you, kid. Well, you heard her. Let's get moving."

Artemis put up her hand. "Kampe is not your usual monster. She has wings. She can fly out of range of the grounded fighters and pick them off, one-by-one. It is no use."

Jackie stepped forward, pale and shivering. "Unless someone keeps her busy in the air."

"How?"

"Mom, Lady Artemis… I have decided on my wish…"

Annabeth was right about the monsters being disorientated. They were in the middle of a meal when the Hunters attacked.

Kampe did what Artemis expected and retreated into the air. But, there was a surprise waiting for her.

Jackie dived out of a cloud, glossy black wings tucked against her body. That had been her wish. A pair of black raven's wings, large enough to carry her, but small enough to fold against her back and out of sight.

Kampe roared as a silver arrow hit her between the eyes. "Why do you fly?!"

Jackie grinned. "It's a gift."

Kampe swatted at Jackie with her poison blades. It brushed the tips of her feathered wings, slicing off some of the wing feather tips.

"That was too close." Jackie grumbled. She swooped at Kampe again, her khopesh outstretched.

She hit the dragon square in the chest. Kampe roared as she began to dissolve.

They started to hurtle towards the ground. Jackie tried to pull her khopesh free, but Kampe had other ideas.

In her dying moments, the dragon lady plunged her blade into Jackie's back, piercing her heart from behind.

Jackie coughed blood. "You…"

Kampe grinned. "Dead."

Jackie wrapped her arms around her khopesh as they fell. It came out of Kampe's chest in the final moments, coming fully into her grasp and control.

She was thrown away from the dying monster as they hit the ground. The other monsters ran off, just as Annabeth had predicted they would, now leaderless and without orders.

Thalia ran over to Jackie. "Jackie! Oh no… Artemis!"

The Lady ran over, but it was too late. Jackie was dead.

Artemis screamed and cried. "No! My daughter, no!"

Thalia put her arms around Artemis' shoulders. "We need to take her home."

There was a breeze of air. Artemis and Thalia stared at the sky in shock. A woman on a white horse was diving straight towards them.

Just as fast as the image had appeared, it disappeared again. Artemis resumed crying and Thalia comforted her.

But a glimmer of hope still remained.


	11. Chapter 11

Part 11- Carried away in impossible hands.

Jackie awoke in a garden. A beautiful birch tree covered her, but she could see the moon and stars above her. She sat up moving her wings to fold under her cloak.

A man, not too old, but not young either, walked out of a pair of large doors nearby.

"Excuse me, miss, but… what's your name?"

Jackie was a little frightened. "Jackie."

"Well, Jackie, I'm here to take you to your room. Do you have any luggage?"

Jackie looked around the garden. Her guitar bag and field pack lay nearby. "Over there. Those bags are mine."

The man looked rejoiced. "This is the first time in a thousand years anyone's had luggage! Thanks, kid."

He collect the bags, treating them very gently. Jackie picked up her weapons, which lay scattered around where she had been lying.

"Follow me." Said the guy, walking back towards the door.

The hall on the inside was very fancy. He led her to a pair of elevators and pressed the number 19.

"My name is Hunding. I work as the bellhop here, at Hotel Valhalla."

Jackie froze. "Valhalla? You mean, Norse mythology, Valhalla?!"

"Yes. I thought you already knew that, since you were so calm."

Jackie shoved Hunding against the wall, holding her forearm across his throat. "Do you think I want to be here?! I am a Greek! I have to go home!"

Hunding shook his head. "I'm sorry. There's no backing out now."

Jackie cursed and slumped against the other wall. Hunding led her down a hallway, past a couple of rooms and to the end of the corridor.

A door marked 'Jacqueline Hunt' lay in the wall.

Hunding opened the door and passed her a set of keys. "The first one's for your door, second for the minibar and the third is for the private cupboard. I know you'll make friends with the other people along this corridor, just give them a bit of time."

Jackie reached into her pocket. All that was there to tip the old guy was a smashed chocolate from dessert the last night she'd spent with the Hunters.

She passed it to him. "Sorry. That's all I have."

He grinned. "Doesn't matter. Chocolate's better than a pound of red gold anyway."

He walked off, smiling brightly to himself.

Hunding stopped at Magnus Chase's door on the way past. Magnus, thankfully, was inside.

"Look, there's a new girl down the hall, just in. She's not real happy. Said something about being Greek? I don't know. But, she's not happy and barely spoke apart from when she gave me the tip and tried to attack me."

Magnus nodded. "I'll get the gang onto it."

Hunding left, examining the chocolate as he walked away.

Magnus asked for the help of the most capable person on floor 19. Since beggars couldn't be choosers, Alex (male today) joined him in the floor 19 lounge.

"What do we do about her?" Alex asked. "It's not like she's going to be approachable."

Magnus's face remained grim. "Alex… can you try talking to her? Like you do for the kids at the Chase Space?"

Alex pursed his lips. "Maggie, I'm not sure I want to get killed again before dinner…"

"Please, Alex."

Alex rolled his eyes and smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

Jackie rolled over on the bed. Her room was laid out in a huge cross. In the centre was a grassed area with a Hunters tent set up with lots of cushions and monster skins.

The bedroom was exactly the same as the one she had at the Jackson house, which just made her homesick.

Alex entered carefully, looking around. Jackie had dumped her weapons near the door, which didn't help with Alex's nerves.

He stepped out into the middle of the room. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Jackie froze. She reached over and turned the light on in her bedroom. The only thing separating the open grassed area and the bedroom were a pair of silver silk curtains.

Alex stepped into the small room. "Hey. You must be Jackie, huh?"

Jackie held her boot knife out in front of her. "Who are you?"

"Alex Fierro, at your service." Alex grinned and sat down next to Jackie on the bed.

"You've got nerve to approach me like this." Jackie said, adjusting her cloth eyepatch.

Alex shrugged. "You're new. I'm just trying to be friendly."

Jackie narrowed her eyes and lowered the knife, but didn't put it away. "Why?"

"Because it's the nice thing to do. Jeez, you act as if you've got something to hide."

Jackie shuffled back nervously. "Umm…"

Alex looked straight at her. "What is it?"

Jackie growled. "Get out. Get out of my room!"

Alex leapt back as Jackie lifted the knife again. "Whoa! I just asked a question!"

"GET OUT!"

Alex retreated quickly, running back into the hall. Magnus stared at him.

"Not friendly?"

Alex panted. "Nah, she's fine. She was being defensive, so I asked if she had something to hide and she tried to kill me. Nice kid, just don't pry. Remind you of someone?"

Magnus grinned. "You, Alex. Come on, let's see if Mallory can help."

Mallory Keen came out of the room in about the same condition as Alex.

She shook her head as Halfborn went to enter the door. "She probably wouldn't like a ginormous Norse warrior walking into her room."

Halfborn shrugged. "Okay. Well, that leaves one more…"

TJ was shoved roughly through the door. He straightened his army coat and walked over to the couch.

He slumped into it, showing no signs of wanting to be aggressive.

After a few minutes, Jackie approached him. "What do you want with me?"

TJ shrugged. "It wasn't my idea to come in here."

Jackie became suspicious. "Why are you here then?"

"I was shoved in and told to talk to you."

Jackie looked at his jacket. "You're a Union soldier…"

"100% Black Union. TJ, at your service."

The knife slid dropped out of Jackie's hand. "No…"

She started to cry. TJ hopped off the couch and walked over to her. "Hey, it's okay. Why are you crying? A pretty little girl like you shouldn't cry."

Jackie unhooked her cloak, revealing her wings. "I'm not a… 'pretty little girl'… anymore…"

TJ put his arms around her, very gently. "You're fine. Look, you see? I got a piece of flint sticking out of my head. You think that's fun?"

Jackie touched the flint gently. "Why don't you get it taken out?"

"I can't. It was embedded into my skull when I left Hotel Valhalla last year or so. It only hurts when I try and take it out."

Jackie rubbed her finger over the flint's sharp edge. "Ow…"

TJ nodded. "Yeah. Why have you got wings, then?"

TJ felt a hand on his shoulder. "You'll find out tonight, if my video isn't tampered with again."

"Samirah!" Magnus, Mallory, Alex and Halfborn had entered the room too. "Were you seriously her Valkyrie?"

"Of course, Magnus. You expect me to pass by on someone else wearing a green scarf?"

Jackie rubbed the silk. "I hate you…"

Samirah turned to face her. "Pardon?"

"You were the one that brought me to this nut farm! I didn't ask to be here! Now, I'm sitting in a room with a Valkyrie, a Union soldier, a Norse Viking, a frizzy haired Gaelic and a couple of normal looking guys."

Alex raised his hand. "Actually, I'm gender-fluid and Magnus can talk to birds."

Jackie groaned. "I can't take this anymore!"

Her legs gave out, making her kneel down on the floor, her face in her hands and her wings drooping.

Samirah knelt beside her. "Magnus, do something!"

Magnus knelt beside Jackie and put his hand on her cheek, summoning the Power of Frey.

He saw into her past. Foster home after foster home, living on the streets, her battles to get to Camp Half-Blood, the truth of her past, defending New Rome, Dusk, Danny, absolutely everything she'd left behind.

"Maggie?" Alex's voice called. "You're finished."

Magnus pulled his hand away from Jackie. He was glowing, not that he cared. He stood up.

"I'm going for a walk."

Alex grabbed his shoulder before he could even take a step away. "No. You're going to talk to her."

"I'm going to call Annabeth to tell her that her friend is alright."

Now it was Samirah's turn to stare. "Wait… she's a Greek?"

"Probably best friends with Percy Jackson. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to call my cousin."

Annabeth burst into tears over the video call. "Magnus, you're lying! You have to be lying!"

"I'm not, I promise you. Annabeth, ask me anything about her. I'll answer correctly, I bet you."

Annabeth thought for a moment. "What is the colour of her eyes and the style of her hair?"

"She has amber eyes and her dark hair is done in hundreds of tiny braids and…"

Annabeth then started screaming. "Percy! THALIA! She's alive! SHE'S ALIVE!"

Two more faces appeared in the screen. A tall boy with green eyes and a shorter girl with short black hair.

"You're joking."

Annabeth shook her head. "Thalia, this is Magnus, the cousin from Boston I told you about? He says Jackie's in Valhalla with him."

Thalia scowled. "Why should I believe you two?"

Magnus grinned. "Black raven wings."

Thalia ran down the hill, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Annabeth smiled down at the video call. "Thanks Magnus. There will probably be a celebration tonight. Bye!"

"Bye, Annabeth." He said, ending the call.

He turned to the rest of the group. "They know she's alive."

Jackie sniffed, burying her face in TJ's shoulder. "What about Mom?"

Magnus put his hand on her shoulder. "Who's your mom?"

"Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt."

Mallory's pitiful expression faltered. "Isn't she meant to be a maiden?"

"Don't ask." Muttered Jackie, accepting TJ's embrace.

A siren sounded out in the halls. "There's dinner. Coming?" Called Alex, walking towards the door.

"Let me get changed first." Jackie grumbled, walking back towards her room.

She came out wearing a short white shirt (torn to allow her wings to fit) and her short black jacket.

"Let's go." She said, dragging TJ by the arm.

He grinned at Magnus. "She trusts me."

"I don't trust you. I just trust the others less, especially that one." She said, indicating Halfborn.

Floor 19 were some of the first to arrive, so grabbed good seats to watch the Valkyrie Vision videos.

Sam took Jackie to go sit at a different table, where other Valkyries had their new einherjar.

Jackie fidgeted in her seat. Her wings were folded tight against her back, but she was still scared someone might call her out on them.

The Thanes were soon seated, along with the other hundred-or-so einherjar. Helgi, the Hotel Manager, stood up to address the diners.

"Tonight, we must welcome three new einherjar to our ranks! Let us watch them in order, starting with, Katy Riggs, Washington!"

Katy had died during a fight while defending a group of kids during their escape from kidnappers. All the kids had survived, but she was shot.

The room was in uproar at her show of bravery, even though she wasn't related to the gods.

Her future was read. She would fight many battles in Valhalla, and have her legs and head cut off tomorrow.

The second was a tall boy called Angus Reed. He'd died in a fight between two local gangs while defending an injured friend and trying to break them up.

He was a son of Tyr and would rise to the Thanes table over the next 700 years. He would fight bravely at Ragnarok alongside his own father.

Next it was Jackie. She tried to refuse standing, but was dragged to her feet by Sam. Her green scarf caught some attention, but the statement from Helgi caught more eyes.

"Jacqueline Hunt, Daughter of… the Greek gods Hades and Artemis. Occupation, Hunter of Artemis, Camp Half-Blood camper and high schooler.

Place of death – Greece. Let' watch the video, shall we?"

Silence followed as the video played. It showed pretty much the entire battle. Samirah must have been proud.

Jackie swooped out of the clouds attacking Kampe head-on. The entire battle was shown, but it seemed more heroic than Jackie had anticipated. She looked gratefully at Samirah, who smiled back.

When it came to the scene where Jackie fell, half of the einherjar shut their eyes, frightened by the video.

The two figures hit the ground with a horrible crunch. The video then showed Artemis crying over her daughter's body.

Jackie cried out. "Mom!"

Thalia comforted Artemis as the video took a nose dive. The screens went black.

Helgi looked over at Jackie. "Her future shall now be told."

The seer stepped forward, scattering runes over the table in front of Jackie.

"Her near future is unclear, but she will fight bravely and selflessly at Ragnarok alongside Odin himself. She will rise among the ranks of the einherjar and rise, not to the Thanes table, but to the level of Head Valkyrie."

Jackie stared. "Is that allowed?"

Helgi nodded. "If Odin chooses you, then you become a Valkyrie, no questions asked."

Jackie nodded. She felt Samirah pat her on the shoulder. "It's okay to be scared."

Jackie sniffed. "What about Mom? How will she know I'm here?"

Helgi shook his head. "She will not."

Jackie sat down again. The Valkyries brought around the food, but she barely ate. The mead was pleasant enough, but she didn't feel like drinking it.

Magnus nudged Alex. "What's wrong with her? She's not eating!"

Alex looked over at Jackie. "If I'm not wrong, I'd say she's pining. You contacted Annabeth, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, all we got to do now is wait to see if her mom knows she's alright. Dead, but alright."

Magnus nodded, watching as Jackie stood up and walked out of the dining room.

"Should we follow her?" He asked, whispering to Alex.

"Whatever, I need the exercise." Alex said, standing up and following Magnus to the exit.

Jackie had taken one of the elevators to floor 19, so it was easy to work out where she'd gone.

Magnus knocked lightly on her door. "Jackie? You in there?"

The door opened a crack. "Go away."

Alex pried the door open a little further. "Jackie, there's a training battle, tomorrow morning straight after breakfast. It will be Thursday, so we'll be battling dragons. You coming?"

Jackie thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll be there."

Magnus smiled. "Okay. If you need anything, just ask."

Jackie nodded, then shut the door. What a crazy place.

She awoke the next morning to find Mallory poking her shoulder. "Do you mind, Mallory?"

Mallory smiled. "Up and at 'em, kid! I brought you some breakfast."

Jackie looked at what Mallory was offering her. An apple. She sighed. "Put it on the bed, then I'll take it."

Mallory looked confused, but did it anyway. "Why?"

Jackie picked up the apple and took a bite. "Giving someone an apple, either throwing it to them or just passing it, is proposing in ancient Greek."

Mallory nodded. "I'll meet you outside."

Jackie finished her breakfast and got dressed, her khopesh gripped tight in her hand. She looked at the mantelpiece and nearly dropped the khopesh on her foot.

In a frame, just sitting there, was a picture of her in the bridal gown with her mom beside her. It did look beautiful.

She took it down and traced her finger over the engraved ivory frame. A siren sounded outside, signalling everyone to the battlefield.

She put it back and raced to the door. She swapped her weapon from her khopesh to her axe, bow and arrows, deciding that they would work better against a dragon.

She opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Magnus and the rest of the gang were already outside.

"Nice axe." Halfborn said, examining her blade carefully. She snatched it away from him.

"No touching." She commanded, shifting her wings nervously.

Magnus led the group down the hall, towards the battlefield.

The dragons, were huge, aggressive and horrible. Pretty much on easy level.

"Watch out for the frills on their necks." Warned Alex. "They're full of poison."

Jackie hefted her bow. "Let's get it over with."

Halfborn charged straight at a dragon. Mallory rolled her eyes, drawing her knives and chasing after him. TJ ran over to a small hill and started to load his gun, aiming for a group of einherjar down the hill.

Magnus summoned Jack, the talking sword. "Senor! I heard you needed help!"

"Just go kill a dragon, Jack." Magnus said, rolling his eyes. Jack grumbled something about the new girl's bow and flew off, leaving Magnus to draw a standard Hotel Valhalla sword.

Jackie shrank back into the trees, curling her wings around her shoulders. Magnus called out to her. "You coming?"

Jackie nodded, Shadow Traveling directly under the dragon that was playing tug-of-war with Halfborn over Mallory. Halfborn was winning.

Jackie stabbed her boot knife into the dragon's chest through a chink in its armour. It roared in agony and went belly-up.

Jackie beat her wings and flew out from under the dragon, just in time to see it fall on a group of enemy einherjar.

Halfborn stared in awe at her. "How did you…?"

She smiled, then indicated the survivors from the squashed einherjar. "I'll tell you later, after you kill that lot."

Murderous light danced in Halfborn's eyes as he ran off to slaughter the enemies. Someone had ordered him to kill, which was an order he completed to the fullest.

Magnus ran over. "Jack! Did you see that?"

Jack's blade shone magenta and he swooped over to Jackie. "Can I have a date with your bow, please? She is gorgeous!"

Jackie grinned. "After the battle, tough guy. First, I need a favour."

"Anything!"

Jackie grabbed Jack's handle and threw him as hard as she could at another dragon. The beast crumpled over.

Jack flew back. "Cool! Do it again, do it again!"

She took his handle again. "Ready?"

"Sure!"

She threw him even harder, using her wings to gather momentum. He sailed through the air and stabbed three einherjar through the chests as he went.

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Jack! Come here!"

Jack flew over. "Senor? Why aren't you fighting?"

"Because there's nothing left to do here. Let's go."

Jackie landed next to him and ran alongside him to the next battle, which was in the middle of the shady forest. She grinned. "This is my territory."

She Shadow Travelled around the place, murdering einherjar like there was no tomorrow.

Magnus was decapitated while fighting a pair of berserkers. Jack flew to Jackie's side and helped her while trying to flirt with her bow, which she was using half the time.

Suddenly, pain shot through her chest. Someone had stabbed her from behind.

Jack screamed. "Senorita!"

She panted as she melted into darkness, dying.


	12. Chapter 12

**(Hi everyone! NoblesseSeria here. This chapter is really short. Apologies. The chapters will start to lengthen out after this one. Keep on sending reviews! Love yall!)**

Part 12: Sweet Dreams…

Dying was bad enough. Seeing stuff was worse.

Artemis, alone and crying in her palace on Olympus. Jackie stood behind her.

"Mom?" She whispered.

Artemis turned around and screamed. "Jackie!"

Jackie held up her hands as Artemis tried to embrace her. "Don't! I'm just a vision. If you touch me, I'll disappear."

"Where are you? I can't find you anywhere!" Cried Artemis.

"Valhalla, Norse hall of the Worthy Slain. Aka, Boston, according to Magnus."

"Can you get out?"

"Of course I can! I saw an einherji use a laundry shoot to get out and Magnus told me about the entrance in a clothing store nearby. It's easy."

Artemis smiled. "Where can I meet up with you?"

Jackie thought for a moment. "There's a store called Blitzen's Best. We'll meet up out front of that, then go to the café or something. Next week, Saturday, 10?."

"Alright. I'll see you there. And, Jackie, with your bow, just draw a line in the air with your finger to summon an arrow. It will save you from compromising your flight speed by carrying the quiver. Also, you bow has…"

Jackie smiled and hugged her mom, cutting the sentence short and melting into mist.

The next image wasn't so good. Norse gods, trying to scale the side of Mount Olympus. The Greek gods were retaliating, firing down at them.

The Norse advanced at them, killing, maiming, destroying. And she was right in the centre of it all.

She yelped and dodged to the side, falling to the ground. It gave way under her and she just kept falling and falling, all the way to Tartarus…


	13. Chapter 13

Part 13: A dwarven tailor and an elven friend.

Jackie awoke to find herself in her room, panting and sweating, alone and frightened.

She picked up a pouched of golden drachmas, taking one out and walking over to one of the arms of the cross that held her bathroom. She turned on the shower and threw the drachma into it.

"O Iris, goddess of the rainbow accept my offering and show me Achelous, please?"

An image appeared in the spray. Achelous looked at her and smiled. "Helena! You called!"

"Hello Achelous! It's nice to see you." She said back to him.

"Where are you, Helena? Why do you not come back to me?" He asked, sadly.

She smiled softly. "Soon, Achelous. Be patient. And, might I say, that your horns look very grand."

He smiled brightly. "My pride and joys! Thank you so much for returning them."

Jackie looked to the side, pretending there was someone coming. "I have to go, Achelous. I'll call again soon. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Helena. Be safe." He called as she swiped her hand through the image, shutting of the call.

She hung the shower head back up and walked away. The call to Achelous had calmed her nerves greatly.

She looked around the rest of her room. A PlayStation and PC with all the games she would ever

need to keep herself amused, a huge TV and an even bigger bookshelf. All of it felt old and uninteresting. She needed something else to do.

There was a knock on the door. Magnus poked his head in and smiled. "You want to go out with me?"

She stared at him, until he added. "Not like that! Outside the hotel."

Jackie nodded, folding her wings flat against her back and pulling a jacket over the top to hide them fully.

He nodded. "Nice. Come on."

She picked up her bow, yelping as it shrank to become a necklace with a bow charm on it.

Magnus's runestone charm buzzed. He summoned Jack, who squealed with happiness.

"Oh, she listened to me! She listened, Magnus, I'm telling you!"

Jackie's own necklace buzzed. "Oh gods."

She pulled the charm off. The bow spoke with a female voice. "Why wouldn't I listen to you, Jack?"

Jackie frowned. "And what are you called, O magical Hunter's bow?"

"My name… I do not own one."

Magnus shrugged. "I don't know. Call her Atalanta and get it over with."

"Yes!" Cried both weapons.

"Why?" Asked Jackie.

Magnus shrugged again. "Because Annabeth told me she was this great female archer in ancient Greek times. Your new talking weapon is a Greek bow. It's kind of obvious."

Jackie nodded. Atalanta shrank back into a charm, briskly followed by Jack.

"I think my mom tried to warn me about Atalanta before, while I was being resurrected. I should've listened to her."

Magnus nodded. "Come on, let's go."

They walked out into the hall and opened the laundry shoot. Jackie dived down it head first and appeared standing in the street. Magnus followed quickly after.

"Follow me." He said, leading her towards a row of shops. "There's a couple people I want you to meet."

Blitzen kept bustling around, trying to take Jackie's measurements and muttering words like shabby, uncoloured and old.

Hearthstone watched, his eyebrows raised, as the dwarf ran into the back room.

Jackie shook her head. "What is wrong with him?"

Magnus sighed. "I think he wants to give you a makeover."

Hearthstone signed quickly. _"Don't accept the golden armour. It's too heavy to stand in."_

Surprising both Hearth and Magnus, Jackie signed back. _"Okay."_

Turning to Magnus, she said. "I picked up some American sign language in one of my foster homes. I still can't sign really well though."

Magnus smiled. "Cool."

Blitzen ran back in, shoving some clothes into Jackie's arms and directing her to the changerooms.

"Try it on and if you need a different size, just ask. But, I think I got it right."

Blitzen himself was wearing a white suit with a black tie and handkerchief with black dress shoes. Very formal, as usual.

Jackie walked off. Hearthstone nudged Blitz. _"Was that necessary?"_

Blitz nodded. _"Yes, it was."_

Jackie came back, but no one really recognised her.

Blitzen had given her a white, kneel-length dress, white roman-style sandals and a thin pink cardigan over the top to hide her wings.

He then took her bronze armbands and circlet into the back room to modify them.

She looked in the mirror. "He does a nice job, doesn't he?"

Magnus nodded. "He also likes making metal Expando-Ducks, bulletproof waistcoats and ties and jewellery."

Jackie nodded. "Does he know how to work with Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold?"

"He should do. Or, he'll give it a good go."

Blitzen came back just then, right on cue. He placed the circlet on Jackie's head and attached her arm bands carefully.

"Take a look!" He said, stepping back to admire him handy work.

The bronze and gold had both been coloured with sparkling silver, the same as her Hunter's bow, charm and arrow heads. The circlet was now just a plain half-ring of silver, but had ivy designs creeping down behind her ears and pink rhinestones set into the front.

She smiled at the dwarf gratefully. "Thank you."

He nodded. "Anything for a friend of Magnus's."

Magnus grinned. "Thanks, Blitzen!"

"No problem, Mag." Came the reply as Blitz passed her old clothes back to her, all packaged up in a small, white leather backpack.

She slung it over her back. "Thanks."

Blitz shook his head. "You're not leaving yet. Follow me."

Jackie gave Hearth and Magnus a frightened look as Blitz headed into the back room on more time.

When they came out again, nothing seemed different. Until Jackie spread her wings.

Magnus gasped. "They're white! How did you do it?"

Blitz shook his head, smiling. "A master never tells his secrets."

The group continued to talk for another hour or so. It was sunset when they were ready to leave.

Jackie said goodbye to Blitzen, thanking him for what he'd done with a golden drachma.

To Hearth, she signed. _"Nice to meet you H-E-A-R-T-H-S-T-O-N-E."_

By signing his full name, she showed great respect and gratitude towards the elf. His ears went bright red.

_"__Nice to meet you too, J-A-C-K-I-E."_

Jackie blushed softly. Magnus led her out the door, waving to Blitz and Hearth as they left.

"So, what did you think of them?" He asked, looking down at her.

She smiled. "I like Blitzen. He's really nice. Hearth seems a little sad, but is also nice to talk to. He would be a great listener."

Magnus nodded. "He's the only one that isn't driven nuts by Jack's singing."

Jackie laughed as they walked down the street to the department store where the entrance to Valhalla was hidden in a rack of women's sports gear.

Jackie stepped through first, coming out without a single hair out of place. Magnus, however, managed to collect a tank-top to the face and came out humiliated and blushing.

He threw the top back through the door before it closed. "I've had that happen enough times already. Can't I catch a break?"

"No." Said a voice from behind them.

Both turned around to come face-to-face with a tall, dark-haired man. With an eyepatch.

Magnus stared in fright. "Odin…"

Jackie looked up at the Norse version of the king of the gods. He returned her stare.

"So, this is the Greek." He said, as if only just noticing her presence.

Jackie pursed her lips. "Yes, I'm the Greek, big deal. What is it to you?"

Odin raised his eyebrows. "Cocky, aren't you?"

Jackie crossed her arms. "What if I am? What will you do about it?"

Odin chuckled. "Congratulate you. You are the first modern Greek demigod we've ever had in Valhalla."

Jackie looked at Odin, a little confused. "Why are you here?"

"This is my hotel, I think I have a right to be here."

Jackie glared at him until he sighed. "There is going to be a war. I have to tell the Thanes. If you'll excuse me…"

He walked away, leaving Jackie and Magnus confused and scared.

They ran to the elevators and took the first that opened to floor 19, where the others had just gathered after being resurrected.

They filled the others in and tried to come up with any ideas on what it was about.

Jackie suddenly froze. "I had a vision, while I was resurrecting. The Norse gods were storming Mount Olympus!"

The entire group stared at her, then looked at one another. "We have to stop this."

Alex, of course, brought up the obvious. "But how?"

Jackie, timidly, pushed her way back into the conversation. "We could gather the Greeks and Romans and… Get the gods to hold a council… to stop the war and work out their territories and differences."

Magnus nodded. "Then that's what we'll do! Pack up, everyone. We hit the road, when?"

Alex raised her hand. "Tomorrow. We can bring along Blitz and Hearth then. And they can bring more skills."

TJ picked up his gun. "Okay, let's go pack."

They all stood up and started to move off, when Jackie cleared her throat.

"You'll need my help too." She said.

Halfborn grumbled. "No we don't. We've gone on heaps of quests and succeeded without you. Why would we…?"

"You don't know where the other camps are. Nor do you know the location of Mount Olympus. Nor do you have someone who can pull a favour from a god or goddess. Nor…"

Alex held up her hands. "Okay, we get it. We need your help."

Jack buzzed against Magnus's neck so frantically that he managed to pull himself off the chain.

"Senor! I hope you weren't planning on leaving the senorita and Atalanta behind!"

Magnus scratched the back of his head. "Ahh…"

Alex tapped his shoulder. "Who is Atalanta?"

Jackie summoned Atalanta from her necklace. "This is Atalanta, Atlas for short."

Atlas pulled herself out of Jackie's hand and swooped over to Jack. "I'm not staying behind!"

Halfborn slapped his forehead. "Don't tell me she sings."

Jackie shrugged. "I only met her this morning."

Atlanta shimmered a little brighter. "I can sing, yes. But I get nervous."

Jack flew in a tight circle around her. "I can help with that…"

Jackie snatched Atlas out of the air and willed her back to charm form. "That'll do."

Jack returned to pendant form, landing in Magnus's palm. Magnus sighed. "Let's go pack and get a good night's sleep. Everyone at the laundry chute at 10 to go to Blitz's store."

They all said goodnight and went to pack.

Jackie threw the new bag that Blitzen had gotten her onto her bed. She went to her wardrobe to see what was inside and nearly cried.

Inside were outfits that matched the style of the she was wearing, a small sign on the inside of the door reading 'Courtesy of Blitzen's Best.'

She took out a long white skirt and short, pale pink top, slipping them into the bag. A pair of white jeans and a red t-shirt went in next, along with a pair of white sneakers.

She shut the bag and turned to her weaponry. The silver quiver would have to stay behind, but her knives could come, since they could be attached to her thighs. She stroked the blade of her axe. It, and the khopesh, were coming along.

She attached them to her bag, via handy little loops of material. They, fortunately, did not obstruct the movement of her wings at all, so she would be able to travel at full speed the whole time she was flying.

There was a knock at the door. Alex appeared. "Hey, I'm just doing Maggie's hair. I was wondering if you wanted a haircut while I was at it?"

"Sure." Jackie said, following Alex to her room.

Magnus wasn't happy about having his hair cut. Alex cut most of it off, except the bangs, which she left alone except for dead-ending them.

Jackie sat on the chair next. Alex took pride in her work, so Jackie just told to do what she wanted. Magnus hung around to watch.

Alex shaved Jackie's hair off on the left side and the back, leaving the very top layer on the right and the front alone, only undercutting the right.

She then took out a spray-can of silver hair dye and sprayed all of the leftover top-layer, except for the roots, which she left dark.

"Done." She said. "And, wow."

She picked up a mirror and showed Jackie. The longer parts of the hair had gone wavy and looked stunning with the silver and dark contrasts.

Jackie stood up and brushed herself off. "Thanks, Alex."

She went back to her room and put her phone on charge, knowing that she would need it. Her bass was propped up in the corner, polished and ready to be played, but she knew she didn't have time. She would play it when she got back, if she got back.


	14. Chapter 14

Part 14: A quest.

Jackie's morning shower was cold and cruel, but she managed to get through the rain of icy water without catching influenza.

She dressed in the first outfit Blitzen had given her, with her green scarf wrapped tight around her shoulders.

She picked up her equipment, stepping out into the hall. She turned around, only to bump into Hearthstone.

_"__Are you alright?" _He sighed, slowly so that she could read them.

_"__Yeah. Just nervous." _She replied.

He gave her a reassuring look and started to walk towards the laundry chute, where the others were already starting to slide down into the unknown.

She accepted Hearths hand as she got into the chute. He slid after her, landing in the street.

Magnus was the last down, Jack buzzing violently against his neck. Atlas wanted to come out of charm mode too. Both einherjar decided to keep their magic weapons from coming out.

Suddenly, a white horse appeared in the sky, Samirah on its back.

"Magnus!" She cried. "Did you get it?"

Magnus sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. Let's head to the harbour, guys."

Jackie spread her wings and took off, the white feathers glistening in the sunlight. Samirah's horse flew next to her.

"Hey! You're in Valkyrie airspace!" Cried Samirah.

Jackie laughed. "Did you pay no attention the other night? I'm going to be Head of the Valkyries one day! I think I can borrow some airspace!"

Samirah smiled. "Why do you where your hijab around your shoulders?"

Jackie lifted her hand to the green silk. "It's a hijab? I thought it was just a scarf."

"Come here, ride behind me for a second." Sam called.

Jackie swooped over. Samirah spun around in her saddle and adjusted Jackie's scarf to sit around her head.

They looked almost alike, which made them laugh.

They landed on the edge of the harbour, quickly followed by the others.

Alex put a hand to her temples. "Whoa, two Sams!"

Jackie laughed. "No. Just two green hijabs."

Blitzen rolled his eyes. "I'll work on a new outfit for you. Now, Magnus, pray tell what it is."

Magnus pulled out… a yellow handkerchief. The entire team, Jackie as an exception, groaned loudly.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Hollered Halfborn.

"I promise you, I wasn't thrilled either." Magnus said, walking over to the water. He threw the handkerchief in.

It hit the water and began to unfold. Mallory rubbed her eyes painfully. A bright yellow longship appeared before their eyes.

"It's beautiful." Gasped Jackie, running her hand along the railing. She beat her wings twice and landed on the deck, exploring the deck.

TJ grinned. "Good. Jackie can climb the rigging. I don't want to do that anymore."

"Can I?!" Squealed Jackie, racing up the ropes.

Mallory chuckled. "She likes the _Big Banana_ a lot, Magnus."

"Good. It will be our home for however long we'll be at sea for. Load whatever supplies Sam prepared last night onto the boat. Where'd you leave the supplies, Sam?"

Samirah pointed down the harbour a little way. "There. It should be all there, under some tarps."

They found the tarps all right. And the boxes. Well, half of them. Most had been stolen overnight.

"Damn." Muttered Magnus. "We need those crates of food. We won't have enough for the entire voyage or the crew that we're going to pick up at the other camps."

Jackie tapped him on the shoulder. "We could resupply at the camps. They always have food to spare."

Magnus grinned. "Okay. Come on, guys. Load whatever's left, then we'll go."

The loading was very quick, especially with Jackie and Samirah flying things to the ship.

Soon, it was finished. Magnus willed the anchors up and the ship to sail out into the bay. Hearthstone sat on the rolled-up fishing nets, signing with Jackie. Blitzen was below decks with a sewing machine, saying that he was going to make an outfit that Jackie could properly fight in.

Mallory and Samirah were below decks, taking stock of what they had. Halfborn was at the keel, watching the tides carefully as the sun set beneath the horizon.

Jackie scrambled up the rigging at Halfborn's command, TJ coming down the other side.

The Union soldier stretched, then went to one of the crates that was left on the deck and dragged out a hammock. He hung it up, connecting it between the main mast and a smaller pole on the railing, throwing in his pack and climbing in himself, falling asleep in moments.

It was almost an hour before it was completely dark. Jackie watched the stars and shouted directions down to Halfborn.

Soon, she too joined the others in hanging up her hammock and falling asleep, her pack under her head as a makeshift pillow.

The sunrise was scarlet. Pretty, but not a good sign, especially with black storm clouds on the horizon.

Halfborn kept his arm steady on the rudder as the storm closed around them, battering the longship.

The crew jumped to the oars, helping the ship along in every way they could. TJ was called down from the crow's nest, it being too dangerous for him, and Jackie was sent up.

She touched the old-style spyglass to her eye, looking for any sign of land.

"Nothing!" She shouted down to Halfborn. "Nothing but storm and sea!"

"Keep looking!" He shouted back. To Magnus, he yelled. "I think we've gone to far off-course. It's too dangerous to be out here in such a small ship without backup."

Jackie shouted another report. "We've just entered Modern Greek waters! Keep an eye out for rocks!"

Halfborn sent Magnus and Alex to keep an eye out for rocks while Mallory, Hearth, Blitz and Samirah rowed and steered with the oars.

Suddenly, Alex screamed. "Rock! 10 metres ahead, closing in fast!"

There was no time to turn the ship away, so the entire team braced for impact. The impact was enough to throw both Mallory, Hearth and TJ overboard. Jackie was thrown against the mast, then overboard, unable to open her wings in time to save herself.

Magnus bashed his jaw on the deck, along with his hands becoming full of splinters. Halfborn broke his arm from the shock of the impact.

Blitzen dodged belowdecks. "No damage!" He called, coming back to the deck.

Magnus healed his jaw and hands, then ran over to Halfborn, healing his arm. "Lower the anchors! We have to get the others back on board!"

Samirah had already dragged Mallory and TJ back onto the decks, both unconscious and turning blue.

She then began to search for Hearth and Jackie, scouring the water from above.

It was nearly six minutes before Hearth surfaced, Jackie clutched to his chest, before falling unconscious. Samirah, with the help of Jack, dragged the pair on board and started applying CPR.

Blitzen prepared them all fresh clothes and helped Samirah take them all belowdecks to start the fight against hypothermia.

Mallory and TJ, who had faced the least of the cold water, awoke first. They were then shoved close to Hearthstone and Jackie, who were close to death.

Magnus sat beside the small group, piling them with blankets and healing them whenever he wasn't glowing too much.

Water trickled out of Jackie and Hearth's ears, making the blankets around their heads damp.

Alex patted Magnus on the shoulder. "Magnus, don't tire yourself out. You won't be able to help them when they do wake up."

"If they wake up." Said Magnus miserably. "I knew I should have done something more to help up on deck. I knew it!"

Alex clapped her hands onto Magnus's shoulders and shook him violently. "Stop beating yourself up for it! There's nothing we can do now except wait."

Magnus nodded, rubbing his neck to stop the whiplash hurting. He went back up on decks and helped Samirah and Halfborn with the oars. Halfborn looked up at the crow's nest, wishing that there was a lookout up there apart from Jack.

Jack swooped down, his blade glowing black. "No sign of land, Senor. And I think another storm is going to join this one. There's this huge black bulge on the horizon that just keeps getting bigger…"

Halfborn picked up the broken spyglass. "Land ahoy! I can see the Athena Parthenos from all the way out here and it's a beautiful sight."

The trio started to cheer. Alex raced up from belowdecks and danced a jig with Samirah, then swapped to Magnus.

TJ and Mallory hugged each other belowdecks. Hearth and Jackie grumbled unconsciously and snuggled deeper into the blankets to escape the noise and movement from the others.

The Half-Bloods had not been expecting a bright yellow Norse longship to appear on the coast. As the ship drew closer, the Athena Parthenos' ignorance to the ship told them that it was friendly.

Annabeth screamed. "It's Magnus!"

The entire camp had heard about Annabeth's Norse cousin, who was now hanging off the rigging, waving and using a torch to signal in Morse Code.

Annabeth and Leo watched the torch flashes carefully. "They have hypothermia victims aboard! Apollo cabin, prepare the infirmary!"

The _Big Banana _docked alongside the normal-coloured Greek triremes, where it stood out like a sore thumb. A bright yellow, sore thumb.

Magnus disembarked first, only to be embraced by Annabeth. "I missed you!"

Magnus hugged her back. "You too. Now, hurry. We don't know how long they have left."

Jackie and Hearth were carried to the infirmary together on a large stretcher, as the campers didn't want to separate the two until they could make up for the loss of the shared body heat.

Leo stoked the fire and wandered around, randomly catching fire until Calypso told him to go take a nap in the fireplace.

Hearth awoke first, followed only moments later by Jackie, but both fell into a normal sleep only 10 minutes later.

Percy shook his head. "We'll tell her what happened later."

Alex tapped Percy on the shoulder. "What happened that she needs to know about?"

"There was an attack on camp, about a week ago, just before Jackie died. Her boyfriend, Danny, was at camp. His last words were 'Tell her I'm sorry.'"

Alex looked over at Jackie, who was deeply asleep, then at Samirah and Magnus, who had heard the entire thing.

"Does she have to know?"

Percy nodded. "Chiron said that she must be informed as soon as possible, but she died before she could be told."

Alex looked at the sleeping figure again. "That sucks."

Percy nodded. "He insisted on having her name on the burial shroud. When Artemis returned with Jackie's body, Nico made her a gorgeous shroud and told us to wait until he was finished. We burned them together."

Alex lay down on one of the empty beds. "I'm going to take a nap. Too many sad stories make me tired."

Magnus lay down on a separate bed. "Me too."

Alex shook her head. "Maggie, come over here. I need a hug."

Magus obliged, pulling the curtains around the bed before going to Alex.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure if that's allowed here…"

Annabeth walked in. "Neither is it allowed underwater, Percy Jackson."  
Percy's ears went red and he quickly disappeared out the door before Chiron saw him.

The storm was over the next morning, thankfully. Jackie and Hearth were sitting up, responsive, bright-eyed and already eating, so James confirmed that they were back at 100%.

And Chiron was just about to ruin the good news. He walked soberly over to the beds and leaned against the end of Jackie's.

"Hey Chiron!" Jackie greeted him happily. It just made his job harder.

"Jackie, something happened while you were… away…" He began.

She looked at him straight, her amber eyes glistening. "What happened?"

"There was an attack on camp. Your partner, Daniel, was present at the camp. He died defending a younger camper."

Jackie looked at from one face to another. "You're joking… you have to be… it's not funny anymore… no…"

Percy and Magnus put their arms around her as she cried. Hearth asked around for what had happened. Blitz told him, but he didn't respond to it, instead he just looked at Jackie sadly.

Chiron pulled a small package out of his saddlebag. "He wanted you to have this."

She took it. Everyone watched as she unwrapped it, revealing a small, very soft, stuffed koala.

Jackie hugged it to her chest, still crying softly. "He knew I've always wanted to go to Australia. He knew."

Percy looked up at Annabeth. "Wasn't that stolen from Octavian's supply?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Probably. He didn't have many koalas though."

Chiron stamped his feet. "Moving right along, Magnus Chase, what in the name of Hades are you doing here?"

Magnus told them about Odin's visit to Hotel Valhalla and Jackie's vison. "We're trying to gather Greek and Roman demigods to help us. Jackie's telling us the locations of the camps so that we can gather the demigods and get them to sail with us to Olympus, wherever that may be."

Chiron nodded. "So, she's keeping the locations secret that way you can't leave her behind?"

"Exactly."

Chiron stamped his foot. "Annabeth, have you been teaching her new tactics?"

Annabeth blushed, giving Chiron all the answers he needed.

He looked at the different demigods in the room. "Nico, Will, Percy, Annabeth, you lot will choose another demigod each to go with you to Camp Jupiter to gather more recruits."

The four chose other members from the Seven (Leo and Piper) and Nico and Calypso.

"Demeter cabin, start loading that ship with supplies. The rest of you, get ready to march to New York and establish the defence of Olympus!"

To himself, he muttered. "Again…"

Pegasi were loaded with supplies and flown out of there within the hour. Camp Jupiter was notified and Hazel was sent to strengthen Mist barriers around the Empire State Building to stop mortals from interfering.

Halfborn showed some Ares kids how to really fight with an axe. They all demanded his autograph on their own weapons.

Mallory showed the Athena children how to parry with a pair of knives.

Magnus sat around and didn't do much while Jack spoke to some younger campers.

Jackie wandered around aimlessly, Samirah and Alex by her side, still cradling the toy. Her scar had returned and her eye went back to missing the iris and pupil.

TJ showed off his bayonet and gun to some Hephaestus campers, who scrabbled around for blueprints of the gun and wrote out recipes for bone steel.

Soon enough, the einherjar were famous among the Greeks and the Greeks were all wearing bulletproof waistcoats and ties.

By the time the _Big Banana _was loaded, so were 20 Greek triremes were ready to go as well, the largest manned by Percy Jackson and the other chosen Greeks.

"Everyone! Fall into formation behind the longship!" He shouted to the crews of the other ships. Leo flew Festus overhead, with Calypso riding behind him.

The fleet of ships rowed out of the harbour, the crews waving back to Chiron and Argus, who were preparing to take the remainder of the demigods to New York via the camp vans.

Jackie sat on the head of the dragon figurehead at the front of the boat, her wings drooping sadly.

Alex touched Magnus on the shoulder. "She really misses him."

Magnus frowned. "She'll get over it. Eventually."

Blitzen looked at Hearth and signed something. "Magnus, come over here."

Magnus walked over. "Yeah."

Hearth signed. _"Why does J-A-C-K-I-E sit on the dragon?"_

Magnus sighed. _"It's hard to explain. She lost her partner to a monster. She didn't get to say goodbye to him."_

Hearth looked between Magnus and Blitzen, just to check if they were joking. _"Not joking?"_

_"__Not joking. Just give her time. She'll be alright."_

Hearth went still. He looked at Jackie, who's cheeks glistened with tears. He went back to whatever he was doing before, which seemed to be weaving something out of bright threads.

Magnus left him to think. If Hearth didn't want to talk, it was no use trying to make him.

He walked over to Jackie. "Hey, do you… want to talk about it?"

Jackie shook her head. She didn't speak, just shook her head.

Magnus nodded. "If you want to talk about it, just say."

She nodded and turned back to the ocean. Dolphins leapt out of the bay, playing in the formation of boats.

Percy jumped into the water and came up riding a dolphin.

Suddenly, a herd of hippocampus rose up from under the waves, a cyclops riding on the back of the largest one.

"Brother!" He called, smiling at Percy.

"Tyson!" Yelled Percy, slowing his boat slightly to let Tyson climb up. He hopped onto the deck and hugged the cyclops.

"How've you been, Big Guy?" He asked, swiping his dark hair out of his eyes.

Tyson smiled. "Good! I heard you needed help, so I got Rainbow to bring me up."  
Ella, the harpy, squawked and landed on Tyson's shoulder. "Tyson is smart." She said, hugging her boyfriend.

Tyson pointed at Jackie. "Who is Sad Bird-Girl?"

Percy patted his brother on the shoulder. "Her name's Jackie. She lost her boyfriend recently, so don't try and talk to her. Also, she's petrified of cyclopses. Best you leave her alone."

Tyson frowned. "But I like helping people. I could cheer her up!"

Percy shook his head. "Just leave her be, Big Guy."

Tyson frowned again. "I do not understand. Why should I let her be sad when I can help her?"

"Because you'd just scare her more, Tyson. I just said she's scared of cyclopses."

Tyson nodded sadly. "Alright."

Leo looked down at the _Big Banana. _"Hey, they don't need the dragon on the front of their ship when they have a weeping angel!"

Calypso slapped him. "That'll do, Smokey. Don't tease her."

Leo got Festus to swoop down beside the ship. He called over to Magnus. "Hey, Doctor Who fan! Keep an eye on that weeping angel on your figurehead, will you? She'll kill you all if you're not careful."

Magnus yelled something impolite as Festus flew back up into the sky, Leo laughing the whole way.

They moored a little out to sea that night, close to a small island. Festus landed on the island, curling up on the sand to go to sleep.

Percy dived into the water and collected fish and oysters for the meal that night. Annabeth and Harry explored the island a little way and chose some fresh herbs and edible fungi to eat as well.

Jackie barely ate. Percy thought it was because of Danny.

The truth was she was allergic to oysters and didn't like eating fish. She snacked on some dried fruit and nut pieces instead.

Hearth went and joined her at the bow after dinner. _"Are you alright?"_

She shook her head. _"I miss him. He was so kind and always nice to me…"_

Her hands faltered. She lay them on her lap.

_"__I lost my brother, mother and father." _Hearth signed. _"I know the feeling."_

Jackie nodded. _"You're lucky. You had a mom, dad, even a brother! I was created from two dying souls."_

Hearth pursed his lips. _"I've never heard that one before."_

Jackie scoffed. _"I'm technically related to H-A-D-E-S and A-R-T-E-M-I-S. They both claimed me."_

_"__O-D-I-N taught me how to cast runes properly. Does that mean he claimed me?"_

Jackie shrugged. _"I don't know. N-O-R-S-E stuff is still foreign to me."_

_"__I can give you lessons on the 'N-O-R-S-E stuff' if you want."_

_"__I'd like that."_

Jackie smiled. Hearth tried to smile, but his mouth didn't seem to want to. Jackie reached up and gently made his mouth smile with her fingers.

_"__You look nice when you smile." _She told him.

Hearth frowned then smiled again, making sure he could do it on his own. _"Thankyou."_

_"__No problem."_

Magnus saw this conversation from his hammock. So did Blitzen, who was sleeping above Magnus.

Blitz stuck his head over the side of his hammock. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Yep. People who can't hear make the best listeners."

The weather was fine over the course of the next day. Jackie swooped over the ships, pointing out the locations of sandbars and rocks to Halfborn, who relayed the locations to the other ships. Percy controlled the currents to speed up their journey.

Ella read stories to the younger campers at lights out, accompanied by Jackie, who tucked them in.

Couch Hedge yelled orders at the gunners whenever a monster came too near. Mellie, his wife, would cuddle their son. The baby kept trying to escape her grasp to go and help his dad with the sea monsters.

The other einherjar played cards on the decks and counted how many dolphins played in the wake of the ships.

Jackie landed after about 6 hours in the air. "We're nearing the coast near Camp Jupiter. Begin turn to port and into that cove over there. If you get lost, ask Percy."

Halfborn nodded and relayed the message down the ranks of ships. Jackie went and stood on the figurehead, her wings spread wide and catching the wind, making the feathers ripple.

Hearth walked up behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder. He smiled. She took hold of his wrist and beat her wings.

Before he knew it, he was flying through the air.

Hearth loved flying. He cast a quick rune, _Ehwaz,_ and summoned Stanley, the eight-legged flying horse.

Hearth slipped out of Jackie's grip, landing squarely on Stanley's back. Jackie soared next to them, smiling and laughing.

Magnus called them down. "Come on, guys! We have to make a good impression on the Romans!"

Reyna went to meet the small fleet. "Percy! Good to see you! And, Magnus Chase, I presume?"

"Correct." Said Magnus, shaking the Praetor's hand.

"And…" Reyna froze. "Jackie…"

Jackie frowned. "Well, that's a way to give a warm welcome, isn't it?"

Lupa, who was present at the docks to watch the arrival, growled playfully. "It's nice to see you too, Jackie. There is someone who wants to see you."

The was a howl from behind the group and Dusk leapt at Jackie. "Dusk!"

Lupa grinned, her teeth making Magnus nervous. "She was given to the pack after you died. We didn't know you went to Valhalla."

Dusk sniffed the legs of everyone on the longship, stopping especially long at Halfborn, who patted her gently.

"We had dogs on the boats." He explained, playing with Dusk's ears. "We used them to help pillage in Britain."

Jackie whistled, calling Dusk away from Halfborn. "Reyna, we need some recruits aboard these ships, the rest must go to New York and defend the Empire State Building until we can think of a way to stop the war between the gods."

Reyna nodded and called to the Roman troops in Latin. Jason, Hazel, Frank and Reyna herself took one step forward.

"We shall travel with you on your quest. Man the ships!"

Three great Roman warships were brought into the harbour, armed to the teeth with weapons and huge Imperial Gold barge-rods on the front. If they ran into anymore monsters, they'd be well protected.

Jackie, Samirah, Jason and Stanley the horse all helped to load the ships from above. It went a lot faster than what it would've if they weren't there.

The fleet set sail again, the Romans picking up their places in the formation and helping the quest to speed along.

Jackie flew low, close to the water, feeling the misty spray from the ships in her face. Alex turned into a falcon and flew beside her, but changed back into a human after a bit and stood by the railing of the ship, watching her intently.

The night was quiet. Creepy. The was no moon or stars to navigate or see by, and the lanterns and torches on the ships just reflected off the water.

Halfborn called the fleet to rest. "Anchors down, boys! This is as far as we go tonight."

The einherjar hit the sack, except for Alex and Jackie. Blitzen was working on his project belowdecks, so Hearthstone sat with Jackie at the bow.

Alex watched as they sighed back and forth, but it was too dark to see what they were saying. Hearth moved a little closer to Jackie, who put her wing around him to black the wind.

The lantern flickered closer to them, illuminating their faces. Alex caught a glimpse of something she thought she'd never see.

Hearth kissed Jackie smack on the mouth.

Alex rolled over in her hammock, hoping they hadn't seen her looking.

This would make great gossip in the morning.


	15. Chapter 15

Part 15: To Olympus!

The tale of Jackie and Hearth's midnight kiss was soon over the entire fleet. The pair were so embarrassed that Hearth summoned Stanley and they flew over the fleet for the rest of the day.

They approached New York to find that Hazel had completely hidden the Empire State Building from mortal view, which was incredible.

They entered the bay to find Hazel on Arion, her magical horse, waiting for them.

"Hey guys!" She called out to them. They threw her the mooring lines and disembarked. Jackie shook hands with Hazel politely, then stroked Arion.

"He's a nice horse." She said quietly. She continued to stroke Arion until the others came to shore. Percy gave Arion a slappy pat on the neck. "Nice to see you too, Horse Man."

Frank turned into a horse and rubbed noses with Arion, who didn't look at all surprised to see the Chinese-Canadian boy turn into a roan steed right before his eyes.

Jackie patted Frank on the neck, thinking he was Arion. "Hazel, how old is Arion?"

"Arion is over a thousand years old. The one you're stroking is 18 and a half."

Jackie jumped back in fright as Frank turned back into a human. "Eep!"

Frank laughed so hard he fell over. Hazel fell on top of him.

"Oh, that's so funny!" Frank cried, sitting up and putting his arm around his girlfriend.

Leo snorted. "Nearly as funny as when you got out of the Chinese Handcuffs by turning into an iguana?"

"Why you little!"

The following activity included Frank swearing, Leo bursting into flames, Calypso screaming as Leo tried to hide behind her and accidentally set her dress on fire, Percy soaking both Calypso and Leo in sea water, Frank tackling Leo and the pair rolling around on the floor, wrestling like a couple of small children.

Jackie tapped Jason on the shoulder. "Did they ever do this during your quest?"

"Not that I ever saw." Jason replied, scratching the back of his neck.

Frank eventually dragged Leo to his feet. "What have you got to say for yourself, Sparky?"

"That you have terrible breath, Chinese Baby Man." Leo replied, earning himself a dip in the bay.

"Enough!" Screamed Jackie. "This is my quest and I need you to start acting like the Great Seven that destroyed the giants and defeated Gaia! Please, just until we stop the impending war and destruction of the entire world!"

Jason nodded. "I'll follow along with that. You guys?"

The others nodded. "Alright."

Jackie sighed with relief. "Thank you."

The army of demigods marched into New York. They didn't have any problems with the mortals, since they were all asleep.

"This is the last time I want to see this." Percy said, nudging a sleeping pedestrian with his foot.

Hazel shook her head. "I made sure I gave them enough time to get to a safe area before they fell asleep. I can wake them back up again on command."

Frank kissed Hazel gently. "That's my girl."

Calypso snorted. "I could do that in my sleep…"

Leo kissed her, mimicking Frank. "That's my girl."

Frank tripped the son of Hephaestus over. "Oops…"

Leo stopped himself from attacking the son of Mars when Jackie gave them a tired look. He cuddled up to Calypso instead, who put his arm around his head.

"Poor baby…"

Leo stuck his tongue out at Frank when he thought Calypso wasn't looking, making the taller boy sook up to Hazel, who put her arm around him.

"Poor Frankie…"

Calypso and Hazel shared a secret 'loving girlfriend' look without the boys noticing.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Guys, quit."

Both the boys stuck their tongues out at Jason. Piper put her hands up before he could turn to her for comforting, but something slipped under her other arm.

"Annabeth's being mean." Percy grumbled, nestling himself into Piper's arm. Jason slipped under her other arm while she wasn't looking.

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Boys these days…"

Hearthstone signed to her. _"What about me?"_

_"__You're fine. Human boys are weird."_

Magnus looked at Alex, who unfortunately for him, registered as male that day.

"Why did you have to be male?" He asked.

Alex gave him a strange look. "Why do you say that?"

"The craze seems to be sooking up to your girlfriend today."

Alex slipped his arm over Magnus's shoulders. "You can have a hug any time you want, Maggie… just as long as it's between 9 and twelve and not on a weekend."

Magnus accepted the terms and the offered hug. He might not get another one until the end of the world.

The entrance to Mount Olympus was unguarded and open, making it easy for the demigods to enter. Even the elevator music had stopped, which was extremely weird. Pleasant, but weird.

Jackie stepped out of the elevator first. "Amazing…"

Olympus was truly breathtaking. White marble and leaf gold everywhere. Columns and spires, temples and…

"The council hall of the gods." Whispered Percy.

Annabeth smiled. "You like it?"

Percy kissed her forehead. "I love it."

They walked up the stone path, past little houses and towards the council hall.

The thrones were all the same from Percy's last visit, but there was more overhead viewing, more windows. Even the Ophiotaurus had a proper tank now.

He mooed happily as the demigods entered.

Percy reached up and patted his nose. "Hey, Bessie. How're you doing, man?"

Jackie stared at him oddly. "I'm not even going to bother asking."

The demigods all walked around, then knelt to pray at the base of their parent's throne while the einherjar watched. Jackie looked between Artemis' and Hades', trying to decide.

They seemed to be evenly spaced, so she looked straight between them at…

"Zeus' throne?" She wondered if she would be allowed to pray to the King of the Universe while he was away preparing the other gods for a war. Well, no harm in trying.

Once Jason was finished, she knelt down and closed her eyes.

_"__Lord Zeus… look, I need help. I need just a little guidance. I have to stop this war, to stop the different gods from fighting. Please, help me. Thanks, amen… or whatever is said after you pray to the Greek gods."_

She continued to kneel for a few seconds. Nothing happened, until she felt something cold wrap around her neck.

She looked down to see a delicate necklace with an electric blue heart-shaped charm, surrounded in icy diamonds.

She tucked it into her top. "Thankyou."

The others rose. "Well, let's start defending this place…" Percy began, but Annabeth shook her head.

"Not necessary." She pushed a button next to the door.

Huge panels of Celestial bronze folded down over the windows. The huge chandelier gave light, as well as the central hearth.

Jackie looked closely at the flames. "Lady Hestia?"

Hestia appeared beside the hearth, looking very nervous. "Twice… you should not have come here…"

"Why not?" Jackie asked, kneeling down to Hestia's level. The goddess shuffled back a bit.

"You are too powerful. The Norse deities will find Olympus, not only because of the einherjar, but you. You will be the downfall of Olympus."

Jackie stared as the goddess stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and prepare to fight for the first time since the First Titan War."

Jackie grabbed the goddess's arm before she could leave. "Is it really that bad?"

"Let's just say 'yes' and leave it that." Said Hestia coolly, melting into a puff of smoke.

Annabeth coughed slightly. "Well… that was pleasant."

"Hestia isn't like that. There must be something terribly wrong." Percy said defensively.

Jackie nodded. "And that something is me."


	16. A quick warning

Hello all readers! NoblesseSeria here with a quick update. This fic is coming to a close soon, but there will be a sequel after it. It's going to be amazing, trust me. _(cough_ once I figure out what it's going to be _cough)_

Well, it's been fun, guys, it really has. There will be HUGE plot twist soon, so stay tuned. Go to the next chapter for your normal Percy Jackson and The Daughter of Artemis entertainment!

Love yall! From, NoblesseSeria.


	17. Final Chapter

**Hi! This is NoblesseSeria with a quick update. Sorry, guys, this is the last chapter for this fic. The sequel is going to be called Percy Jackson and the United Gods, but it may take a few more days/weeks before it comes out. Thanks for all the support, but a few more reviews would be appreciated! Keep on reading! Signed, NoblesseSeria.**

Part 16: Our Guardian. Our Saviour. Our Friend.

Percy put his hands on Jackie's shoulders. "You're not the reason. There has to be something else."

"Then why would Hestia be afraid of me?"

Magnus thought for a moment. "Maybe she's scared of the haircut Alex gave you. It is intimidating."

Alex grinned. "I take pride in everything I do. Say, remember that time I decapitated Magnus right before decapitating the Elder Leviathan? What was his name? Grimwolf?"

Magnus chased Alex around the thrones, intent on ripping his fellow einherji and partner's throat out. But, fortunately for Alex, Alex was too fast. Especially after turning into a cheetah.

Annabeth scowled at the pair. "Stop it, both of you. We have to try and figure something out."

Jackie pointed to the top of Zeus' throne. "How about a bit of Victory?"

"That would be nice, but how…?" Annabeth started but was cut off by Jackie.

"As in, Nike is sitting right there, let's go talk to her."

It wasn't easy to talk to Nike. She kept moving away from them. Finally, Jackie called it.

"Enough! I'll go talk to her, alone. If that doesn't work, we take it in turns to approach alone."

The others nodded as Jackie beat her wings and went over to Nike. Nike stayed still, thank goodness.

"Twice. Leader for the Defence of Peace." Nike muttered. "I hope you are victorious."

Jackie looked up at the goddess. "I thought that you decided that, Lady Nike."

Nike laughed. "Oh, Lady Nike! I like you. Sadly, no. This victory will be decided by the Fates."

Jackie nodded. "Well, what are you doing here then? I thought you were supposed to be Zeus' charioteer."

Nike nodded. "I am. But I came to answer your prayer. Zeus did hear your prayer and he did give an answer, but not to you. He muttered it under his breath. I was close enough to hear."

She passed Jackie a piece of paper. "Read it and destroy it. I must go now."

Nike disappeared in a shower of gold. Jackie opened the note and read it silently, the burned it in the remains of the central hearth.

Percy approached. "What was that?"

Jackie smiled up at him. "The answer."

The others were a little shocked at the plan. Well, a lot shocked.

"Can we go over that again?" Annabeth asked.

Jackie nodded. "It's simple. You guys have to get the attention and presence of both Odin and Zeus. Both of them must be in this room. I'll take care of the rest."

The Norse folk nodded. "We'll get Odin. You guys get Zeus."

The demigods nodded. They got into a group huddle.

Reyna began the conversation. "So, we just start screaming Zeus' name?"

Jackie shook her head. "No. He'd probably send a different god to answer for him."

Annabeth shrugged. "So, we scream 'Zeus, we need you.'"

"Exactly."

They stepped out of the huddle. Jackie nodded at Magnus.

Alex started the count down. "Three..."

Annabeth did the middle. "Two…"

Jackie ended it. "One!"

Both groups started yelling and calling for their different 'King of the Gods.'

After nearly 5 minutes, Zeus and Odin appeared.

"What is all this racket about? I can't hear myself think!" They both yelled.

The demigods and einherjar stopped yelling. The two gods looked at one another for a second, then started squabbling indistinctly.

Jackie rolled her eyes and put her fingers in her mouth, whistling shrilly, the way Percy had told her to.

"Quit it, both of you!"

Odin and Zeus looked over at her, both talking at the same time. "Who gave you permission to talk to me like that?!"

Jackie grinned. "Nice to see that you're both listening, boys. I thought you'd gone deaf."

She then swapped to sign language. _"Although, you're pretty much deaf already. What have you got stuffed in your heads?"_

"Hey!" They both shouted, advancing on her.

She beat her wings and moved backwards, now hovering over Zeus' throne. "What are you going to do anyway? Vaporise me?"

Zeus summoned his master bolt to his hand. "Of course."

Odin's staff materialized in his palm. "What else would we do?"

They both pointed their weapons at her. Just before they fired the energy beams, Jackie landed on the throne. Then they vaporised her.

Her body burned with white fire. She screamed as it spread from her chest in all directions, causing a giant explosion of power.

The demigods and einherjar, the Heroes, crowded in together, screaming and clinging on to each other.

Alex kissed Magnus smack on the lips. "I love you!"

Magnus hugged Alex right back. "You too!"

He knew he'd only get another hug at the end of the world.

The light burned for only around 30 seconds, then died away.

Odin and Zeus were huddled together, covering their eyes from the light. The Heroes looked over at the throne and smiled at the sight that greeted them.

Jackie. Just floating there, dressed in a white Greek dress, her green scarf tied around her waist.

Her white wings were now bronze, her armbands and circlet golden as well.

"I am Jacqueline, Daughter of Hades, Claimed by Artemis, Guardian Goddess of Peace." She stated, opening her eyes to reveal silver irises.

"I am neither Greek, nor Norse or Roman. I will never tell which nation I belong to, as it is my job not to."

Zeus and Odin gave each other wary looks, then knelt before the new goddess.

Jackie smiled. "Thankyou. Now, there will be no war. There will be no hatred. Stay in your own territories and stay that way."

Odin and Zeus bowed. "We speak for the entirety of our races of gods when we say that the rule will be followed."

Jackie's smile broadened. "Good. Odin, you may leave. Go back to your worlds. Zeus, call the council to order. All of the council."

Zeus nodded and shook hands with Odin. "May this never happen again."

Odin nodded. "Or at least in the next millennium."

There was a swish of wind and a whirlwind of raven feathers and Odin disappeared.

Jackie beat her new wings twice and jumped down from the throne. Zeus grew to his godly height, 10 meters high, and took his place on his throne. The other gods appeared in their own seats, one by one.

Artemis hugged Jackie. "It's lovely to see you again."

"You too, Mom. You too." Jackie said, talking into the embrace.

A smaller throne appeared at the base of Artemis' throne. It was shiny gold and ivory with emeralds set in the back. The einherjar and demigods climbed the stairs onto the overhead gangway.

Artemis put her hand on Jackie's shoulder. "Welcome to the Olympian Council."

Zeus snapped his fingers. Gears clunked and banged together as a marble table rose out of the ground, two writing arms positioned over a large book.

Zeus grinned at the technology. "I call this meeting to order. Let's call the roll…"

The Olympian gods called out their answers as their names and titles were called.

The mechanical writing arms marked off the names of the present gods. Zeus leaned back in his throne.

"Right, the previous business of the last meeting is not valid, as this is an out-of-order meeting, so we won't read it out."

Hera raised her hand. "What is the girl doing here?"

She indicated Jackie, who fluttered her wings nervously. "I am a new goddess, as you should know, Lady Hera."

Hera shook her head. "I've not heard of you. Last thing I knew, we were preparing for a war against intruding deities."

"I am the reason that the war dissolved before it began." Jackie said curtly.

Annabeth snickered from the gangway, covering her mouth before Hera heard her. Jackie was talking maybe a little too boldly to the Queen of the Universe and it was so funny.

Hera crossed her arms. "What's your title then?"

"Jacqueline, Daughter of Hades, Claimed by Artemis, Ambassador of the Hunt, Guardian Goddess of Peace and Saviour of Olympus and the Nine Worlds." Jackie stated smugly, extending the title to make it sound more impressive.

The look on Hera's face was too much. Annabeth took a photo of it, giggling so hard that Athena shot her a 'quiet down' look.

The council continued as usual for the next few hours. The Heroes sat down and watched the council through the railing while Jackie spoke to the gods about what should be done to stop future wars and keep peace among the different groups.

Dusk appeared at the entrance to the hall. Jackie whistled to her, a piercing sound that scared the Olympians out of their skins.

"Sorry." She said, stroking Dusk tenderly. "I haven't seen her since New Rome."

Zeus nodded. "Have we covered all points of conversation?"

The gods all nodded. Aphrodite sighed with relief as the meeting report was signed off.

"That was probably the most productive meeting we've ever had."

Zeus nodded. "And now we must celebrate the arrival of our new comrade. Muses!"

The nine muses came out and began to play a slow song. The Heroes climbed down the stairs and began dancing with their partners.

Jackie stood to the side for a while and watched, until someone tapped her on the shoulder. Thanatos, Death himself, was asking her to dance.

Jackie took his hand, a little afraid, but relaxed when he led her onto the dance floor. He put his hands on her hips and she put her hands around his shoulders and the began to dance slowly.

She remained alert, but chatted to Thanatos quietly as they danced.

Percy and Annabeth watched the pair dancing.

"When we found him, he seemed much more curt. It's nice to see the kinder side of him for once."

Thanatos looked down at Jackie and smiled. "You are a goddess now. A beautiful goddess. You'll need a husband to stop the married ones from fighting, eh?"

Jackie stiffened in his embrace. "What are you implying, Thanatos?"

"Be my wife."

Jackie put her hand to his cheek. "It would be forbidden. I am a peace treaty. If I were to marry a Greek god, the other groups of gods would start demanding my hand as well. That wouldn't be fair, neither on my husband nor me. I'm sorry, but I must decline."

Thanatos nodded sadly. "I tried. My apologies, but I must go."

He faded away, a cold breeze wafting out of the window.

Jackie went for a walk in the gardens of the palace, only to be found by her demigod and einherjar friends.

Percy put his hand on her shoulder. "So, a goddess, huh? That's pretty special."

"You're wrong, as usual, Perseus." She replied.

The others stared at her. Alex stepped forward. "But, you are a goddess."

"Am not."

Annabeth pulled a face. "Explain then, girl, or I will test your immortality for myself."

Jackie scratched her wrist, releasing a stream of red blood.

Nico stared. "But, the aura…"

Jackie nodded back towards the palace. "There is a victory party going on in the palace. Don't you think someone's missing?"

"Nike!" They all cried together.

Jackie nodded. "After giving me that note, Nike didn't actually leave. She stayed next to Zeus's throne where her powerful aura would be intercepted by the throne's. When I landed on the throne's surface, some of my mortal essence was burned away, leaving the immortal essence behind. At just the right second, Nike inhabited my body, keeping me alive and saving the worlds."

Piper looked at Jackie sadly, realisation dawning on her. "But, if Nike leaves you…"

"She will leave my body at exactly midnight. When that happens, my body will burn and I will have to create a new physical form somewhere else in the Western World. In other words, I'm going to die in 5 minutes."

The ten (The H of O seven + Reyna + Nico + Magnus) had a huge group hug around Jackie, sniffling and weeping.

Jackie fluttered her wings. "Before I leave, I'm going to use this cool power to make sure peace is kept."

She plucked a bronze feather from her wing, burning it in a ball of light in the palm of her hand. Similar light burned at the bases of the nine Heroes' necks.

When the light died, they all had golden necklaces hanging around their necks with silvery feather-shaped charms.

"You ten are the guardians of peace. The Heroes of the Gods. Find me again when I'm reborn. Promise that you will."

They nodded. Jason looked up at her. "Jackie! Did you find your truth?"

The others looked at him strangely. Jackie laughed. "Yes, I did. The truth of why I was created. It's…"

Suddenly, white flames encircled her feet. She looked at the clock tower in the centre of the street.

"I got an extra minute. Lucky me."

The fire spread up from her ankles and engulfed her. She didn't even have time to scream, which made it all the more painful for the others.

In less than thirty seconds, she was no more than a pile of ashes.

They all watched a golden soul rise from the pile of grey dust. The soul was not in the shape of their friend, but instead in the shape of a phoenix.

Annabeth breathed out softly, in total awe of the gorgeous bird. "It symbolises strength and reincarnation."

The phoenix swooped over their heads, leaving a trail of gold in the air where it flew.

It spun as it ascended, throwing golden pieces of Jackie's soul in all directions.

After a while, it exploded in a golden shower, Jackie's soul finally being put to rest.

Percy looked down at his new necklace, tucking it gently inside his shirt. "Let's get going, guys. We have a kid to find, and America is pretty huge."

The others nodded. Nico stepped up beside Percy. "Let's do it."

"You'll have all of Rome backing you up." Reyna smiled.

"And some of the Norse." Added Magnus.

"And anyone else we can find." Annabeth said.

They looked out over New York, the moon shining down on them like a lone spotlight. They were the stars of yet another show, acting hero for gods that they either weren't known by or weren't cared about, to save someone they barely knew and go on a quest where they didn't know what to do.

Pretty much the story of their lives.

They walked soberly towards the elevator, but before they could enter, Nike appeared in front of them.

Her wing was missing a single bronze feather as she spread them wide to stop the heroes passing.

Her eyes glowed silver.

_"__Ten Heroes of the United Gods,_

_Shall find a friend against all odds,_

_In lands so old, lost to myth, _

_To face the curse of a forgotten sith."_

Nike fell backwards and, when she hit the ground, melted into a cloud of bronze.

Percy recited the last line. "To be cursed by a forgotten sith? Like, Star Wars?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No. The original meaning was 'an ancient one.' A forgotten god?"

"Maybe. But, this certifies our quest." Alex said, drawing all gazes to himself. "We need to find Jackie and sort out what this prophecy is about. Let's do it!"

They all united in a circle. "Demigods Forever on three." Alex said, a determined light dancing in his eyes.

"One!" Called the Greeks.

"Two!" Cried the Romans.

"Three!" Screamed the Norse, leading the ten in their leap.

"DEMIGODS FOREVER!" The hollered as a single, united voice.

And with that, they raced to the elevator, blocking their ears as Frank Sinatra began to play.

Ah, you can't win them all, I guess. Forward to the next adventure!

The End (For Now ?)


	18. Hello

Dear Readers,

Look, I know this story was meant to be finished. I apologise. I just wanted to say this.

It's not over! I am working, at this very moment, on a series of fanfictions to sequel this one! Please, continue to review and read, as it is super helpful. This is going to be amazing…

Love, NoblesseSeria.


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